Luigi's Manor
by Radiant Emblem
Summary: Luigi wins a mansion in a contest he never entered, and his brother disappears inside and never returns. But when he follows Mario in an attempt to rescue him, he realises that there is far more danger and darkness than he ever predicted. A retelling of Luigi's Mansion.
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue - Nightfall

**Author's Note: Welcome to my new story! Although this is quite short, it's only the prologue. The other chapters will be longer. This is also one of the first Mario stories I've written, so please leave a review and tell me whether it's any good.**

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Prologue: Nightfall

The night seemed darker than usual, despite the gleaming glow of the full moon that hung, overly large and unrealistic, above the roof of the mansion. The cobbled path that led straight to the front door was old, worn with use, grass growing up through the cracks in the stones, was flanked by twisting, dead trees on both sides. Their blackened branches extended over the path like spidery hands reaching out to grab, or the talons of some great bird closing in on its prey. Not a breath of wind stirred the air, which was as still and lifeless as the rest of the forest, as though any trace of life had been stolen from it.

From the bough of one of the tallest trees sat a pair of black ravens. They were not normal. Their crescent-shaped eyes glowed yellow. One of them, the larger, flapped its wings noisily and let out a caw that sounded more mournful than threatening, and echoed dismally before fading quickly into the silence. The smaller raven failed to respond to its partner's cry, but its eyes glowed a little brighter and it tilted its head sideways, inspecting the forest shrewdly as though waiting for something to appear.

Whether they had sensed the intruder's approach or not, they clearly did not like it. They shifted uneasily on the branch, and the larger raven made a long, low croaking noise that sounded like a warning signal. The glow of a flashlight running on very little battery power was blinding to them, having spent their lives in darkness, and they shrieked and raised their wings as though preparing to leave. But curiosity tightened its grip on the two birds, and they slowly settled down and leaned forwards to get a better look at this strange newcomer. It had been a long time since they had seen visitors to this forest. A long time. They were only birds, and they had neither the intelligence nor the memory to recall the last time humans had entered their forest. So they remained completely motionless upon the branch and waited, the glow from their crescent-shaped eyes casting a small patch of light around them.

The flashlight meandered from side to side as it appeared to shake in the owner's hand. It paused for a few moments before continuing on its way up the cobbled path towards the mansion. The larger raven, always the vocal one, cawed in a tone that seemed to say, _'What does he think he's doing?'_

The smaller raven fluffed up its feathers as though it had only just noticed the bitter chill of the night, its answering cry resounding forlornly. _'Dunno. But he must be pretty brave to be wandering so close to that mansion.'_

The larger bird's head moved in an inquiring tilt. _'You're right. Or maybe he's just really stupid or somethin'.' _Struck by this possibility, the ravens fell silent and turned their gazes back to the cobbled path. To their surprise, the intruder had already reached the enormous, patterned front doors and was raising a gloved hand to knock. The hand was shaking as badly as the flashlight it held, but there was no reply to the knock. The mansion remained as deathly silent as always. The larger raven would have sighed in relief if such an action was possible for him to perform. _'Heh, I guess he is crazy after all. Doesn't he know that mansion's been empty since the day I hatched?'_

However, the intruder was persistent in his efforts to gain a response from the uninhabited mansion, and he raised a hand to knock again. Again, he was disappointed by the lack of an answer. His trembling fingers rested on the brass doorknob, which he turned experimentally. He had obviously not expected it to be unlocked, but he was surprised. With a deafening creak, the door swung open, revealing the entrance to a room so dark that nothing could be seen of its interior. The flashlight clicked on and the intruder took a nervous step forwards, leaning his head around the side of the half-open door.

The long, low creak from the door had only just ended when the intruder's voice rang out, louder than it should have been in the silence. It shook like the hand had done, and received no more response than the knock had. 'H-hello?'


	2. Chapter 2 - Darkness

**As promised, this chapter is much longer than the prologue. Enjoy, and please leave a review if you like it.**

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Chapter 2: Darkness

I left the forest with a feeling of dread. An icy fear that was partly responsible for the shaking in my hands that was causing the beam from my flashlight to fly around wildly, showing various parts of the surrounding scenery. I saw everything around the mansion in flashes; the dark, dead trees, the ravens in their branches, the crumbling tombstones and statues standing out of the ground, at strange angles, like crooked teeth. I was too far away to read the inscriptions, nor did I particularly want to. I couldn't stop thinking about the _reason _for the stones' existence, the reason they adorned the edge of the forest in such numbers, and I really, really didn't want to venture close enough to see the names carved into them. Was it possible that the _mansion _was the reason there were so many gravestones out here? I was already starting to believe the rumours that the place was haunted, but I hoped they were just that – rumours. Now I found myself confronted with possible evidence that this mansion was more than it appeared, and, quite probably, home to all kinds of horrible creatures...

Nevertheless, I steeled myself. As far as I knew, my brother Mario had gone to the mansion to check it out. And he never came back. That was the only reason I was still here and not cowering in my house back in Toad Town. Mario must be in trouble, unbelievable though it seemed, because he hadn't returned when he was supposed to. And that alone was enough to worry me, because Mario _never _got himself into trouble. He was the hero, I was just his lowly brother hiding in his shadow while he saved Princess Peach from monsters more times than I could count. I had often wished that I would be given the chance to be a hero too, but now I was presented with the opportunity, I would much rather be somewhere else. Somewhere safer. And less dark. And without dead trees and tombstones.

Perhaps the mansion seemed even more frightening because it was only a few days until Halloween...

I heard a raven's cry from one of the trees whose branches stretched out over the path. The sound held meaning, as though the bird was trying to speak. Ignoring it, I continued on my way towards the mansion, which loomed tall and ominous above me, still and silent, yet buzzing with energy. Lights glowed in some of the upstairs windows, as though there was somebody inside. I pointed my flashlight at them, my hand shaking badly as I gripped the handle, wondering who would possibly want to live inside that mansion. Or maybe it _wasn't _a person. Maybe it was the reason the mansion was haunted. I hated ghosts...

Especially boos. Those awful, round, white creatures, with their great long teeth and black eyes. Their enormous tongues hanging out of their mouths, like the tongues of overexcited puppies. Their chilling laugh as they materialised right behind you, after sneaking up on you, invisible, for goodness knows how long. I _hated _boos. Even if they were really harmless.

I suppose you could compare it to the way some people are afraid of spiders. They might not be dangerous, but they still scare people. I'm afraid of ghosts, boos in particular, although they're more mischievous than harmful. They don't hurt you, they just terrify you. Mainly by sneaking up on you, invisible, and then reappearing with a spooky laugh. Just the thought of meeting a ghost made my hand shake even more badly and I had to tighten my grip on the flashlight to stop myself from dropping it. Without a flashlight, I wouldn't be able to go into the mansion, so I really couldn't lose it.

I was halfway up the path when I heard the raven caw again, and I paused for a second to listen. It was a mournful sound, like a wolf's howl, and it echoed around for quite a while before last strains of it faded away. There was nothing dangerous about a raven, and it certainly wasn't as scary as the prospect of meeting a real, live ghost, so I ignored it and continued on my way.

The doors appeared in front of me. It looked like they had just materialised out of nowhere, but that was simply because the short range of my flashlight had made them impossible to see until I was close. There was a pattern above each door, a pattern that strangely reminded me of an orange segment. The brass doorknobs were shiny, as though they had been recently polished, and were smooth to the touch, rather than old and rusty as I had expected. I let out the breath I had been holding in a long, shuddery gasp. That settled it. There really _was _someone living here. Either that or the ghosts had been taking very good care of the mansion, right down to polishing the doorknobs. Well, I suppose ghosts can have a sense of cleanliness...

I touched the door with my gloved hand. It was cold. Smooth. Exactly like the doorknob had felt, and I realised that the whole door was made out of some kind of metal, probably brass. Under other circumstances, I would have liked to stay there and examine the door further, but there was a reason I had come here and I needed to hurry. Mario could be anywhere by now, lost, or captured by the ghosts, and I had to find him quickly before anything bad happened to him. So, without wasting any more time than I already had, I lifted my hand and knocked, three times.

No answer.

Of course, I was being stupid. Of course nobody was going to answer. It was a haunted mansion! Did I expect a ghost to open the door for me? Still, I decided to knock one more time before I considered doing anything else. My fist hammered against the door, louder than last time, but I still received no response. Sighing, I reached for the doorknob and realised that it turned easily in my hand. Smoothly, as though it had been used recently. But a ghost wouldn't need to open a door – it could just float through the wall.

When the door opened, all I could see inside was blackness. It was worse, a hundred times worse, than the forest outside, and I had needed my flashlight to navigate my way through _that. _This was different from the normal darkness of a cloudy night, or the space under my bed, or the darkness in the back of the cupboard. It was much more than that. It was an impenetrable blackness that prevented me from seeing anything at all. Even when I shined my flashlight between the small crack in the door, it revealed nothing. It was as though I was staring into a room where the walls, floor, and ceiling were all painted black. It was like looking down into a deep, dark hole or the middle of outer space.

And I had to go _inside._

For the love of Toads, Mario was really going to regret this when I found him.

However, I couldn't just stand outside and complain. I shook my flashlight firmly, hoping that its battery power would last just a little while longer. I glanced back at the forest, which suddenly seemed very inviting compared to the inky blackness of this strange, probably haunted mansion. I had never been this frightened in my life, nor felt so alone. I was starting to wish I'd asked someone else to come with me, or even asked someone else to go in my stead. I didn't like ghosts, or boos, or silence, or the dark, or being alone. And this crazy expedition into a haunted mansion fit all those descriptions. It wasn't even _my _mansion; I had received a letter this morning, telling me that I'd won it in a contest. But I never entered a contest. At first I thought they had sent the letter to the wrong person, but now I think it might be a trap. And Mario had fallen for it.

Time to go inside. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open wide with my free hand and stuck my head around it. At the same time, I raised my flashlight and switched it on, peering into the complete darkness inside. 'H-hello?' I called out, my voice sounding small and pathetic as it echoed in the silence. Nobody answered.

I took a step through the door. Then another, my flashlight held out in front of me. Then another. Both my feet were over the threshold now. And another...

The door slammed shut.

I nearly screamed, but it froze in my throat, and all that came out was a strangled squeak. My hand was shaking worse than ever, and my fingers felt oddly numb. My flashlight crashed to the floor and the last of its battery power ran out. All light vanished.

I was alone, and in complete darkness.

* * *

The night's meeting did not last as long as predicted, though it did nothing to ease the worry and uneasiness that hung over the mansion. The meeting room was well-lit using the finest candles they had been able to find. A fireplace stood against one wall, directly opposite the door, but it was cold and empty; the ghosts preferred the soft glow of candles rather than the roaring flame of a lit fireplace. The table was surrounded by chairs, quite a few of them missing a leg or two, while the surface of the table, normally dusty, was spotless. Even the old portraits on the walls looked to have been cleaned with great care before the meeting began. Not that the ghosts had any interest in the state of the mansion.

It had, over a certain number of years, become King Boo's habit to regularly clean and tidy the mansion. He was proud of his home, and harboured no desire to see it ruined by the rebellious young ghosts who patrolled the corridors on dark nights. It was his habit to sneak out in the middle of the day and do the cleaning, because nobody else did, and he wished to see everything kept flawless. And during meetings like this one, he was especially careful to keep the room tidy and the tabletop dust-free. However, no amount of cleaning on King Boo's part could change the outcome of today's gathering. He had expected something like this to happen for a long time, and while ghosts cannot fear, they can certainly capable of showing concern. And King Boo could not bear the thought of losing any of his subjects. He would do anything in his ghostly power to protect them from harm.

The meeting was held every full moon, and the purpose of it was to discuss events that were happening in the mansion. This included ordinary things (such as windows being smashed by mischievous ghosts), unusual things (such as the toilet becoming blocked with ectoplasm), and extraordinary things (such as humans coming through the forest and attempting to enter the mansion). All of these examples had occurred at least once, and the meetings had often seen far stranger examples.

But today, King Boo did not gather the ghosts together in one room to discuss ectoplasm in the lavatory. Today's meeting was deadly serious, for it concerned matters that endangered the whole mansion.

The collection of ghosts waiting impatiently in the meeting hall was an odd sight. There were enormous purple ones, small blue ones, and over fifty boos. They did not have to wait long. King Boo materialised in front of them, turning off his invisibility power. He was huge, three times the size of a normal boo, and his eyes were bright red. Other than that, he looked no different from his subjects, apart from the great gold crown that sat proudly upon his head. How it didn't fall off, nobody ever knew, but they were ghosts, so they didn't find it particularly unusual.

'Frrrriends.' The King's voice silenced the room at once, and turned all the ghosts' heads towards him. He licked his lips with his enormous tongue. Never had he tried so hard to capture his subjects' attention before. He could not let their minds drift now. 'I have important news. If any of you wish to speak, do so before I begin, and make it quick.' Nobody replied, although he sensed the atmosphere in the room change. The complete seriousness of his tone quietened the younger ghosts who had, previously, been listening with only half-hearted interest. Everyone was paying him more attention than before. It was a subtle change, but noticeable. He cleared his non-existent throat out of nervousness and continued, 'It has taken me some time to rrrrealise this, but now I understand it betterrrr. We are in a considerable amount of dangerrrr. The mansion is not entirely safe any more. There is an intruderrrr here with us.'

There was a low noise as several of the ghosts muttered inaudibly among themselves, but none dared speak aloud. They had not heard their King talk with such seriousness, and utter conviction, in their lives. They had no memory of their mansion ever being in danger. Their mutterings grew clearer as their anger increased, anger at the intruder. Only the boos, the ever-faithful, diligent boos, remained completely quiet and waited for the King to resume his speech.

The King heard the murmurs of the distressed ghosts. Although he disliked bringing them such terrible news, it was necessary if they wanted to defend their mansion against their enemies. An army of ghosts was hard to defeat. The boos in particular were famous for their ability to turn invisible, causing any attempts at attack to pass through their bodies as though they did not exist. It took enormous amounts of energy to maintain this invisibility for very long, but they were almost invincible while doing it. Sensing the ghosts' fear over his words, the King's voice cut through the noise like a sword stroke.

'Have hope. I haven't told you everything yet.' The ghosts fell silent and the King carried on with his speech. 'This intruderrrr is greedy. He longs forrrr the gold and jewels we keep safe in our mansion. He will do almost anything to gain them for himself. After all, what human could rrrresist the beauty of ourrrr treasures, the sparkling rrrradiance of the objects we have guarded for centuries, locked away in ourrrr home? But this human is more greedy than most of his kind. I fearrrr he will sink to the lowest levels to steal ourrrr treasure. He is not alone in his endeavour; he brings with him a great army of monsters at his command. They help him under the promise of treasure, and there is little they won't do for him, as long as he keeps his promise. They are a vile bunch indeed.'

'Yessss.' The whisper was at the edge of the King's hearing, emanating from somewhere off to his right. His name was GameBoo Advance. Mystery and fear surrounded him like a cloud, and some of the youngest ghosts said that he could tell the future. While these claims were originally thought to be nothing more than rumours, the King had long since admitted that GameBoo Advance _did_ seem to have uncanny powers when it came to predicating events that had not yet happened. Whether he really could tell the future was uncertain, but there was definitely something about him that the King didn't quite know what to make of.

'Yessss... they are coming,' said the old boo, his voice a soft hiss, yet clearly audible due to the nervous silence in the room. 'King, you must prepare. Our enemy is already attempting enter the mansion... so far, the ancient spells are keeping him out, but it won't be long before he discovers a way to break them.' Slowly, pensively, he drew his tongue back inside his mouth and licked around his long fangs as though testing them for sharpness. 'Our enemy comes nearer and nearer by the minute. We have no time to waste...'

King Boo had listened attentively with growing fear. GameBoo Advance's predications always came true, and if he was right this time, then the mansion was in more danger than he originally thought. The 'ancient spells' were enchantments placed over all the mansion's entrances, including the doors and windows, in order to prevent uninvited intruders coming in. However, they were not strong enough to keep out everything, and if the intruder had a large army at their disposal, they could break through the mansion's walls with very little effort. The amount of treasure stored inside the mansion was the main reason it was so extensively guarded, for the boos were jealous of their belongings; the King the sort of scenarios that tended to happen when a ghost's money was stolen. The panic caused by a few gold coins disappearing was enough to cause stampedes that took hours to calm down. If large amounts of treasure were stolen by intruders, the King didn't know what he would do.

The King slowly opened his glowing red eyes and observed the now-quiet room. Over a hundred pairs of eyes were locked with his, silently asking for advice. Every ghost was staring at him in terror, GameBoo Advance's words having shaken them into silence. He could taste their fear in the air, sharp and bitter, and he could smell it as well. The boos had less interest in gold or jewels than the common ghosts, but even they were gazing at the King in hope that he would tell them what to do in order to protect their treasure. The atmosphere was as thick as melted chocolate.

Clearing his non-existent throat (again), the King spoke in a voice that he hoped did not show his own fear. 'GameBoo Advance is, unfortunately, correct. And none of our treasures will be safe unless we defend the mansion against this intruder. However... we will not be alone in our efforts. Help is coming.' A surprised gasp rolled across the room, and the King found himself grinning slightly at the thought of how the ghosts would react to his next sentence. 'Mario's younger brother, Luigi, is just walking up the path now.'

He expected annoyance. Eye-rolling. Anger. Maybe even laughter at the absurdity of it. What he _didn't_ expect was to be confronted with applause. It started out slow and wavering, a whisper of sound coming only from the boos. Then it erupted into a storm of clapping that surrounded him on all sides. Every ghost in the room joined in with the applause, and they clearly were not lacking in enthusiasm. The King's tongue came out, and his eyes glowed a little brighter as he laughed silently. What an unexpected reaction! Did any of these ghosts really know who Luigi was? The King's information might not have been entirely accurate, but he knew Luigi was afraid of the dark, and monsters, and... well, just about everything! Could he actually be the saviour who came out of the darkness to defend their treasure against the thieving intruders?

The applause took a long time to die down, and its volume meant that nobody heard the commotion downstairs as the front door slammed shut. Only GameBoo Advance knew, and he had known ever since Luigi had left the forest. However, he said nothing to the others, preferring to wait until they discovered it themselves. In the meantime, he allowed himself a small grin, anticipating the chaos that was sure to erupt in the next few minutes.


	3. Chapter 3 - Midnight

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, I didn't expect so many people to like this story! :)**

**This chapter is a bit shorter than the last one, but hopefully the next chapter will be longer.**

**By the way, there's a small Legend of Zelda reference in this chapter. If you have played those games (specifically Majora's Mask) you might notice it. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3: Midnight

The darkness was like a shroud, surrounding me, pressing in from all sides like some monstrous creature. The echoing crash of my flashlight hitting the ground still resounded through my ears like the after-effects of a thunder roll. The sound of the door slamming shut, apparently by its own volition, had left me standing stock-still with horror as though some invisible force was keeping me from moving. However, it wasn't the silence or solitude that was frightening me most of all; it was the lack of light. The room I stood in was completely, utterly dark. It was as though I had gone blind in the space of time it had taken me to cross over the threshold of the door, which had then crashed shut behind me. It seemed somehow colder than it was outside, my breath turning to frozen vapour in the air, curling like smoke towards the ceiling that lay fifty feet above me. There was no light, no sound. Only silence and a lack of light that swallowed me as though my eyes had stopped working and left me in darkness.

But worst of all was the memory of that laugh. The unmistakable laugh of a ghost, more specifically a boo. Just as I had thought, the mansion was haunted and I was now trapped inside it. My only comfort was that the owner of that laugh seemed to have disappeared for now. I didn't consider the alternative – that they were hiding somewhere in this room and waiting for the best moment to ambush me.

After what felt like hours, I realised that I couldn't just stand here and do nothing. The door lay right behind me; it would be an easy matter to turn around and open it again, even without my flashlight. But I didn't want to turn my back on the rest of the room while I tried to locate the doorknob. Although the room was silent, I felt as though someone was watching me from a dark corner. What if they could see me but I couldn't see them? OK, I was probably just thinking that because I was terrified of the dark. But my instincts were telling me otherwise. I could not risk turning away, even if it was just for a few moments while I searched for the doorknob. And anyway, there must be a reason for the door to have slammed shut, seemingly of its own accord.

There was nothing I could do except stand here and wait. Trembling in fear in the dark, waiting for something to happen or someone to appear and help me. Lost in a silent mansion, trapped behind a locked door, enveloped in eternal darkness...

But _was_ it eternal? Turning my head shakily from side to side, I realised that I had not lost the ability to move after all. The floor beneath me felt soft, like carpet, and I could smell dust rising thickly when I brought my foot down on it. In spite of its well-cared for appearance, the carpet had obviously not been cleaned in a long while. Gingerly putting one foot in front of the other, I walked away from the front door, reaching out with one hand in an effort to feel what lay ahead of me. My fingers struck something solid which, upon further investigation, proved to be the curve of a banister. A staircase? It was difficult to figure out where the first step lay, but eventually I managed to locate it. Gripping the banister with one hand and stretching the other out to make sure I didn't walk into anything, I scaled the staircase, which turned out to be smaller than I had expected it to be.

I reached the top. I was on the upstairs landing. This was the moment when things turned dangerous, because I could easily fall down the stairs without realising where they were. The best solution would probably be to crawl along the floor; at least that would eliminate any risks of stepping out into thin air. I hesitated for a few seconds, and that hesitation, that brief moment of uncertainty, caused it to happen. My worst fear came to life in front of my eyes, and I found myself face-to-face with it.

It started out as a glow in the darkness, a small circle of white light that remained distant and hard to see. It seemed to hesitate just as I had done, its white glow soft and wavering. Then it moved swiftly towards me, solidifying into the shape of a ball, with a long tail and two small, pointed hands protruding from the liquid-like body. For a split second, I stared into the mischievous yet cunning face of the ghost, my eyes travelling downwards until they came to rest on the enormous tongue, hanging out of the enormous mouth, and the long sharp fangs sticking out of the upper jaw, on either side of the tongue. For no more than a second I stood there, confronted by the very creature I had hoped more than anything to never see – and then I fled. Instinct took over as I threw myself down the staircase which I somehow knew lay behind me, landing on my feet, and promptly finding myself cornered. The front door was locked. I had nowhere else to run.

And I heard its laughter behind me.

Trembling uncontrollably, pathetically, I backed up against the nearest wall. My foot stumbled against something hard on the floor, which I realised was probably my flashlight, fallen where I had dropped it earlier. If only I could grab it quickly I might be able to scare off that _ghost_ –

I almost fell forwards in my haste to locate the flashlight, my only possible weapon against the boo. My gloved hands found nothing as they grabbed wildly at thin air. The impact of my foot must have rolled the flashlight out of my reach, and now I would never be able to find it in time. I glanced blindly towards the ceiling and saw a circular, glowing light drifting lazily in my direction. The ghost knew I couldn't escape. It moved slowly, as though approaching a dangerous wild animal that it could not trust; yet there was nothing wary or cautious about its movements. It merely looked bored, as though it knew I had no way of escaping and it was taking its time to chase after me. _Haunt_ me.

I was still on my hands and knees, shaking in fear and trying to locate my fallen flashlight. It _must_ be lying on the carpet somewhere. I hadn't kicked it with enough force to send it rolling that far away. Yet, despite my best efforts, I could not find it. The glowing light that was actually a boo had come closer, and seemed to be watching me with a kind of amusement on its ever-crafty expression, drifting nearer all the time. At last, it was floating directly in front of me, less than three feet away; if I had stretched out my hand I could have touched it. Not that I wanted too. Really.

The boo grinned, displaying its canine teeth to their fullest extent. I felt like passing out. Or screaming at the very least. But the ghosts didn't need to know how much terror they caused me; just the sight of their glistening teeth and huge red tongues made me want to run away and hide in a corner. I stood my ground, trembling, not wanting to look at the boo, yet my eyes were inexplicably drawn to it. I could not turn away.

* * *

It had taken a lot of time and effort to get this far, but... oh, it was _definitely_ worth it, so thought Wario as he flew over the forest.

The mansion had been thrown into even deeper shadow than usual by the arrival of an enormous helicopter. Its approach had been nearly silent, and so the ghosts had not noticed it, even when it was hanging directly over the roof. Painted black like the wings of a beetle, it was sleek and shiny and powerful. One the left side of the machine (from the pilot's point of view) there was a large purple circle, on which was emblazoned the letter 'W'. Coloured bright yellow against the dark aluminium of the helicopter, it stood out like ink spilled on fresh snow. The machine would have been well-suited to travelling at night without being seen, if not for the addition of the large yellow letter on its side, but its silenced propellers still enabled it to fly very close to the mansion without having to worry about being detected.

Silenced propellers weren't the helicopter's only special feature, either. It was equipped with two cannons at the front, positioned underneath its elongated nose, and a plentiful supply of Bullet Bills to use as ammunition. There was a third cannon hidden somewhere in the end of the helicopter's tail, close to the tail propeller, which could be used as a flamethrower as well as a Bullet Bill shooter. Lastly, the machine contained a self-destruct feature that would activate if anyone other than its owner attempted to fly it. This feature had never been tested, otherwise the helicopter would not exist anymore, but there was no reason why it shouldn't work if the occasion called for it.

Fast, manoeuvrable and deadly, the helicopter was Wario's latest pride and joy. He had built it himself, spending years on it, adding new features and improvements until the machine was almost perfect. Strong metal plating covered its body to deflect most projectiles, including Bullet Bills. The helicopter's only weak point was its tail, at the point where it joined onto the body; a well-placed missile could easily break the tail off and leave the helicopter unable to fly in a straight line due to the loss of its second propeller. However, these were considered minor flaws compared to the sheer power and beauty of the vehicle that Wario had spent the last half-decade of his life carefully planning and building. And now, after all that time, the day had come for him to put all his plans into action.

Some people would have considered Wario's love of money ridiculous. It was true that he would gladly go to any lengths to obtain a few more gold coins or another gemstone, but he was always careful about it. He never put himself in danger, never failed in his intentions. He was more intelligent than most people suspected, and he used his cunning to his advantage.

Grinning, he manoeuvred the helicopter downwards until it was hovering right above the roof of the mansion. The wind caused by its silent propellers blew against the trees and grass below. Rolling down the window, Wario leaned out and observed the unsuspecting mansion whose many treasures would soon be his. By the looks of things, those stupid ghosts hadn't even bothered to put up any defences against him. There was nothing that could stop Wario from getting what he wanted now. With the power of his beautiful little chopper, the ghosts' mansion – and the gold and jewels that lay tucked safely inside – would soon belong to him, every little bit of it.

But not just yet. Now he must wait. For Wario preferred to carry out his foul business in a dramatic and memorable fashion. He would wait in the forest, sheltered by his beloved helicopter, until the night of Halloween came around. And then, only then, would he bring forth his plans and steal the treasure he had longed for, endlessly; the reason he had originally constructed his helicopter and given it all the special features that made it perfect for the evil intentions that would soon become known.

Laughing insanely, he rolled up the window of his helicopter, swung the machine around and made his way back towards the forest. The darkness of those trees would stop anyone realising he was there until he was ready to carry out his plan.

* * *

I hated the silence, the suffocating darkness, the terrifying solitude. Those were the things that frightened me most, and the reasons I had never wanted to enter the mansion in the first place. Had it not been for my brother going missing, I wouldn't have set _one foot_ over the threshold of this place. Even if Bowser and his entire army were chasing me, I wouldn't have chosen the mansion as a place to shelter – I would have rather dug a hole with my bare hands and hidden at the bottom of it until they had gone. Now I was faced with a dilemma. The grinning ghost in front of me wasn't going to disappear anytime soon, so it was up to me to find some escape route. Confronted by the boo's face – its hanging red tongue, cunning black eyes, long silver canines – I was basically left with three choices. 1, scream, run away, hide in a corner and hope it loses me. 2, scream, pass out and hope it decides to ignore me. 3, wait and see if it actually does anything.

I pondered my three available choices, even though it was hard to think straight when there was a boo grinning at me. None of them seemed like suitable ways of evading ghosts, especially boos. On the other hand, I was already feeling slightly light-headed from constant fear after I had set foot inside the mansion, and I was probably going to end up choosing Option 2 without my volition.

The ghost was still there. Staring. Its long, pointed fangs were gleaming slightly, though there was no light in the room to reflect off of them. It was like being trapped in my own worst nightmare; I was stuck in a pitch-black mansion, without my flashlight, face-to-face with my least favourite type of ghost. The dusty carpet muffled my footsteps as I slowly edged away, trying to keep the movement as hidden as I could. However, the boo saw my action and simply floated after me with an even wider grin. Just as I was beginning to think that there were no options for escape left to me, the boo opened its mouth a little more, folded its tongue away and spoke.

'Green hat... white gloves... could you, by any chance, be the great Luigi?' The ghost's voice didn't echo, as I thought it might. Instead, the tone of the boo's words were similar to the sound of its laugh – soft-pitched and whispering. 'Well, well, well. I've been looking for you for a looooooong time. Actually, the King's been looking for you. Told me to stay here and wait for you, he did.' The boo observed me with a quizzical expression, its head tilted to one side as it drifted in mid-air. 'Well, can you speak? Helllooooo? Umm, Luigi?'

I snapped out of my terror-induced trance and shook my head vigorously. 'N-no... I'm not L-luigi.' Maybe, if I lied, the ghost would just give up and go away. It was a vain hope; the boo simply chuckled at my answer and shook its own head.

'Nah, I recognise you,' it said. 'The King described exactly how you looked, and trust me, I'd know that moustache anywhere. Sooooo... let's get down with the introductions before you pass out on the floor, shall we?' He held out one short arm in a casual handshake gesture. 'You're Luigi, right? Honestly?'

'Y-yes,' I stuttered, staring at the ghost's outstretched hand and wondering what to do. Was he actually trying to be friendly? Or was it just a trick, or worse... a trap? Nevertheless, something about him made me want to trust him, even if it all turned out to be a prank in the end. I put aside my fear for the moment and shook the ghost's hand firmly, trying to ignore the strange coldness of its touch. 'I'm Luigi.'

'Nice to meet you,' said the ghost, releasing my hand with a roguish grin. 'My name is BooGie.'


	4. Chapter 4 - Dawnbreak

**Author's Note: Thanks again for all the reviews! :)**

**This chapter is longer than the last one. As usual, enjoy!**

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Chapter 4: Dawnbreak

The atmosphere was tense. I could tell that just by looking at King Boo and his subjects, who were seated around an old-fashioned table with wary expressions. White light spilled around the table, thanks to the boos – over fifty of them – that were huddled together on either side of their King, glaring at me sullenly. The ordinary ghosts, each one seeming to be a different colour, had liquid-like bodies that gave off no light, and were transparent. Some of them had no fixed shape and warped in and out of existence, their bodies twisting and changing rapidly in size, like a strange multicoloured gas. Some of them were larger than the others, and leaned back lazily against the backs of chairs they didn't need, their fingers tapping against a tabletop that they could easily pass through. Some of them drifted near the ceiling, eating bananas and tossing the empty skins to the floor, where they created a slippery carpet around the table. And some of them were just formless shapes, lurking in the shadows, with no apparent colour, their glowing white eyes the only visible parts of them.

It was the boos, however, that displayed the least amount of friendliness towards me. That much was obvious. It was as though they had been waiting for me to come into the room, and now that I had, they were angry at me for daring to step over the threshold. Everywhere I looked I saw their glowing white forms, eyes narrowed with a kind of intense disapproval that bordered on fury, making me wish I had never entered the room in the first place. I could almost smell the boos' annoyance in the air. Canines bared, eyes gleaming, they reminded me of the time I had ventured into the woods around Toad Town and nearly been attacked by a hungry chain chomp almost three years ago.

It had started with a harmless game of Truth or Dare between me and Princess Daisy, who had been visiting at the time. The game went smoothly for a long while, until neither of us could think of any dares for the other to do. But Daisy was known for her mischievous nature, and had I been warned beforehand, I most certainly wouldn't have agreed to play such a potentially dangerous game with her. I remembered the glint in her eye as she dared me to walk all the way through the Forever Forest, one of the town's most dangerous locations, famous for the piranha plants and other lethal creatures that lived in it. And it was dark – terribly dark, and there were also rumours of ghosts being seen there. However, I accepted Daisy's challenge out of a dislike for making myself look like a coward. And ever since then, it has been the worst decision I have ever made in my entire life.

The Forever Forest was overgrown with twisting trees and vines, and I could hear the piranha plants chewing their way through the soil underfoot, their sharp teeth grinding against stones and rock. There were so many different pathways to choose, and the wrong path would leave me trapped in the same place I had been before. The first three paths I took were the right ones, and I was lucky to encounter no monsters during my terrifying walk. But all that changed when I accidentally took the wrong path for the first time. A loud bark was the only warning I received before the chain chomp leapt out of its hiding place and bolted towards me, its teeth snapping shut inches from my nose. It was attached by its chain to a rotting tree stump, and could not chase after me, but for a moment I was too frightened to move from that spot, and the creature sprang towards me again. I would have probably been eaten if Mario hadn't appeared and driven the chain chomp away, having heard what I was doing and followed me into the forest.

Now, faced with nearly a hundred boos who were all glowering at me and baring their enormous canines, I felt the same way I had felt when that chain chomp launched itself at me – as though I was frozen stock-still, unable to do anything except watch in horror. Even the King was giving me a stern stare as though I had just spilled something on his immaculate carpet. The situation would have quickly turned nasty, if not for my companion's intervention; I had momentarily forgotten that the boo, BooGie, was still hovering behind me.

A soft white light was cast over my head as he floated over my shoulder, showing no apparent fear at confronting the tense, angry group of boos. He swept into a salute and directed his words at the King himself. 'Hey, King Boo. What's up?' he said jovially. Noticing the ghost's stony expression, he quickly turned to the more important matter at hand. 'So, you asked for Luigi. I found Luigi. Just happened to be wanderin' around the foyer downstairs, he did. Anyway, he didn't seem to trust me much but...' he bobbed slightly in mid-air, the ghost equivalent of shrugging, and bared his canine teeth slightly. An expression of annoyance, I quickly discovered, judging by the other boos' changes in behaviour; they seemed more suspicious, more wary, than they had been when I first entered the room. 'He's not the bad guy here, so why are you all acting like he's going to turn tail and run off with our treasure? Relax a little, everyone. You too, King. You all look like you're going to explode at any second.'

'BooGie,' acknowledged the King at last, inclining his head towards the smaller ghost. Immediately the atmosphere became more laid-back, as though his single word had broken a spell over the other boos, who dropped their angry expressions at once. 'I knew I wouldn't have to wait long for you to find him. It's nice to know that I can always trust you.'

'Aww, it was nothing, King,' said BooGie, his massive tongue hanging out of his mouth as he grinned merrily. 'After all, we already knew Luigi was coming, didn't we? Old GameBoo Advance predicated it. And we all know that he's _never _wrong when it comes to guessing what's up ahead.'

'That _is _true,' replied the King, 'but if you had not gone to find him, I think our friend Luigi might have been lost in that foyer for the rest of the night.' I shivered at the thought of wandering around helplessly in that pitch-black room for the whole night without a clue how to get out. BooGie, who was watching me subtly out of the corner of his eye, grinned even more widely at my reaction. 'However, we don't need to discuss this. Luigi is here now, and we must explain our quandary so that he can decide whether or not to –'

He would have gone on speaking, had he not been interrupted rudely by a loud cackle from the opposite side of the room. Eyebrows raised, he turned towards the culprit and spoke very calmly and very delicately: 'Excuse me?'

There was a flash of white light in the centre of the room, and before everyone's startled gazes a small boo materialised, hovering a few feet above the table. I almost fainted on the spot at the sight of it. Its canine teeth were much longer than those of the other boos, and there was a malicious look in its eyes that made me uneasy. Apparently the ghost's appearance had the same effect on the other boos in the room, for they instinctively drew back, recoiling as though a large spider had dropped from the ceiling and landed on the table in front of them. Their expressions of distaste and suspicion were perfectly matched, and even the King's voice was cautious as he said, 'Well, well... GameBoo Advance. It's an honour to see you here, but you don't usually show yourself except at the Full Moon meetings. I'm assuming you've seen something important, otherwise you wouldn't have joined us.'

While the King was talking to the newcomer, BooGie drifted sideways so he was hovering right beside my left ear. Although I disliked having him so close – it caused my old fear of ghosts to resurface – I had a feeling he was going to tell me something important. And I was correct, it seemed, for he opened his mouth half an inch and muttered, 'That's our resident fortune-teller, GameBoo Advance. He's ancient. As you can probably tell, the other ghosts don't like him much, because they're terrified of his ability to predict events that haven't happened yet. Although you'd never get him to admit it, even the King is unnerved by him. There's just something about that old ghost I don't trust...'

If BooGie had been looking at me, I would only have nodded in response, feeling to desire to speak in the presence of so many ghosts. Unfortunately for me, he was facing in the other direction, possibly to keep an eye on what the King and GameBoo Advance were doing. So I was forced to reply, 'Y-yes. He's... different from other... people like you.' I realised I had said 'people' because I was too frightened to say the word 'boos'. No matter how much time I spent around these strange creatures, I would never entirely get over my fear of them; no amount of time would reduce the uneasiness I felt in their presence, and the lack of trust I had for their species.

This time, BooGie turned slightly so one of his eyes, one great glittering black eye, was facing in my direction. The lack of a pupil made it impossible to see whether the eye was looking at me directly or not. 'Heh, you don't need to act like a frightened rabbit around us, you know. The King doesn't hate you, and nor do I. Ignore the other boos; they're just angry that the King's allowing a human into our mansion. It's been a long time since he's done that. The real reason they're acting funny is because they don't know what to think of you – they're worried you're going to do something they won't expect, because they're ghosts and you're not. In a way, they're afraid of you.'

I stared at him in disbelief, barely noticing that King Boo had ceased talking and was looking at me impatiently, waiting for a response to some question I never heard. 'The ghosts are scared of _me? _I'm terrified of them! How could they be _afraid_ of me?' My voice rose to a high-pitched squeak at the end. BooGie tilted his head to one side and looked at me amusedly, his tongue hanging out from between his half-open jaws. Then someone cleared their throat behind me, in a rather loud and pointed manner, and I jumped in fright before realising that the King had been waiting for me to give him my full attention for almost five minutes. I made an apologetic sound in my throat, which probably wasn't even audible, and bowed my head so I didn't have to look up at the disapproving giant boo.

'As I was _saying,' _he growled in apparent annoyance that I had not been paying attention to his Highness, 'we have another problem on our hands, which GameBoo Advance has just told me about. He says that the treasure thief has somehow disabled all of our electricity systems, leaving us with nothing but candles to light the mansion with. Until we find a way of restoring the electricity, we will effectively be stuck in the dark the moment our candles melt down completely.'

I stood utterly still while the meaning of those words, those awful, unbelievable words sunk in. I felt exactly the way I had when BooGie had been chasing me in the foyer earlier, when I first entered the mansion. As though there was no escape; nothing but silence and darkness hanging over the world like a shroud, like an evil shadow. I heard a soft snigger of mirth a few inches behind my left ear, and in the back of my mind I knew that it was BooGie laughing at me, and I also heard the King's quiet chuckle of amusement, but my terror drowned out the sounds. I hated the dark and the thought of being alone. I hated ghosts, and boos especially. And now I was being confronted with the unavoidable truth; I was going to be forced to stay in a mansion, a _haunted _mansion no less, in complete darkness for who knows how long. I couldn't take it.

I fled.

The old wooden door crashed shut behind me, my hand shoving it against the doorframe without even realising why I was bothering, since as the ghosts could just float through it anyway. A series of muffled thumps resounded as I dashed down the carpeted staircase, toppling onto the floor below with an eruption of dust, picking myself up and running towards the front door. The foyer was no longer pitch-black, thanks to the addition of a few candles, which were blazing cheerfully in various parts of the room. However, it was still dark, and the front door was still locked – just as firmly as it had been when I first entered the mansion and it had slammed shut on me by its own volition. It smelled musty, like an old building that had been abandoned for months, and the temperature was like the biting cold of midnight more than the simple chill of a large and sparsely furnished room. I stopped, leaning my back against the door, and tried to catch my breath.

To my surprise, none of the ghosts followed me, not even BooGie. I guessed they were all still in the meeting hall having a heated discussion on why I was so terrified by the idea of staying in a completely dark house. The fact that no-one pursued me down the stairs was a relief, to be honest. I might have been growing more used to the boos, but I would still rather be away from them. Problem was, if I was going to stay in this mansion – perhaps for days – I would _have _to get used to the ghosts, because I would be around them all the time. There had been so many boos in that meeting hall, yet the mansion wasn't really that big. How did they all manage to live here, along with all the other ghosts as well, which there were probably hundreds of?

I opened my eyes, blew out a deep breath – and heard someone sobbing in a corner of the foyer.

Was there someone else lost in the mansion with me? A spark of excitement caused me to momentarily forget my fear of the dark as I hurried over to investigate. Maybe I wasn't alone after all! But who _was _this mystery person? I thought their voice sounded vaguely familiar but not familiar enough for me to guess who it could be. There was nothing to do except locate them and find out. The foyer wasn't a large room, but it had many small dark corners, and it was surprisingly difficult to figure out exactly which direction the sobbing was coming from. However, I noticed that it grew slightly louder when I approached the outside of the left-hand staircase, just underneath the banister.

I spotted a small figure crouched there, head bent, crying uncontrollably. If they had been standing upright, they probably would have been no more than two feet tall. With their head lowered like that, I could easily see the white-and-red pattern on the cap on their head, making it resemble a mushroom. Unless it actually _was _a mushroom... I knew who it was now, or rather, _what _it was: one of the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom, a Toad. I didn't know this particular Toad's name so I just said, 'Hello?'

The tiny mushroom creature suddenly raised its head and looked at me out of watery black eyes, and his face brightened abruptly as he recognised me. I felt guilty for not noticing him sooner; he had probably been stuck down here in this room for ages and nobody even realised he had been there. In fact, he had probably suffered the same misfortune I did – having the front door slam shut behind him as he walked through.

'Luigi!' the Toad cried. 'Oh, am I glad to see you! I thought I was the only one in this awful mansion!'

'You might want to be a little quieter,' I whispered pleadingly. 'There are hundreds of ghosts living here and they might hear you. But why are you in _here_ anyway?'

The Toad's expression turned anxious again, suddenly seeming to find his own shoe immensely interesting, and didn't take his eyes off it as he replied, 'Well... Princess Peach sent me here along with a group of other Toads, to find out what had happened to Mario. S-she was really worried about him, and you too, because you were supposed to be back before nightfall... so she asked me to go to the mansion and check it out. Problem is...' the Toad sounded like he was going to start crying again, 'When I came in, the front door s-slammed shut behind me, and everything went d-dark, and...' With a gasp, he lowered his head and burst into tears, just as I had been expecting. I glanced around nervously to make sure there were no ghosts around, before resting a hand on top of the Toad's head and whispering, 'It's all right, calm down. I'm going to find Mario and bring him back home.'

The Toad looked up desperately. 'R-really? You'll help me find Mario? And then we can leave this horrible mansion? You're the best, Luigi!'

Seeing the Toad's happiness, I suddenly found myself grinning for the first time since setting foot in the mansion myself. 'I'll explain everything later, but it isn't just Mario who's in trouble here. It's hard to explain, but I think the ghosts that live here want me to help them with something. I think someone's trying to steal all their treasure.'

The Toad's black eyes, similar in colour but far warmer than any boo's, met mine. A smile slowly spread over his face, and we both said the same thing at the same time, realising that there was only _one _person who would do something as crazy as this just to get more treasure.

'Wario.'


	5. Chapter 5 - Blackout

**Author's Note: Longest chapter so far!**

**Again, thanks to everyone who reviewed Chapter 4, and feel free to review this one as well.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mario series or any of its characters or locations.**

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Chapter 5: Blackout

I never knew exactly how long I spent by the Toad's side, talking in hushed voices as not to alert the boos; it was a relief to meet someone familiar after not seeing anyone except ghosts for what felt like hours. He told me of his long, perilous journey through Forever Forest with the rest of the Toads, how he had become separated from them after they scattered in fear while trapped inside the mansion. They were probably still somewhere close by, he told me; it had been far too dark for them to have gone very far, and I knew better than anyone that Toads are usually terrified of the dark even more than I was. He had stayed in the foyer, hoping that someone would find him and help him, and was relieved when I discovered him, crying in a corner, believing he was completely alone in the mansion. And until the moment I saw him, I too thought I was the only non-ghost in this terrible place, so we were overjoyed to have found each other.

But it didn't take long for the young Toad's happiness to evaporate once I relayed King Boo's words to him. I couldn't keep the news from him forever, and even as we had been speaking I had carefully kept my eye on the candles. It was only thanks to them that they had not already been plunged into the night, without even the smallest flicker of light to see by, the darkness consuming the mansion like fire. Halfway through our conversation, two of the candles spluttered alarmingly and... went out. Just like that, the foyer was slightly less bright than before. Five minutes later two more candles fell before the darkness, their tiny flames dying away, their wax melted, and each time a candle went out, the foyer grew slightly darker.

When I finally plucked up the courage to explain to the young Toad what King Boo had said to me, only one candle still stood, and that one was due to extinguish itself in a matter of minutes. Although I kept my eyes on it – willing it to go on just a little longer – I saw the Toad's terrified expression out of my peripheral vision. I wanted to comfort him, but there was no comfort for me to give; if I was speechless with fear myself, then I certainly could not convince the poor Toad that everything was going to be all right. It would be wrong to say it, when it obviously _wasn't _going to be all right. Silently we both watched the spluttering, dying remnants of the only candle left in the foyer, the only thing saving us from the darkness that was creeping in, surrounding us on all sides, sneaking under the door and through the stained-glass windows, causing the musty scent of fear to rise up in the room.

'Stay calm,' I whispered to the Toad, who looked like he was about to burst into tears once again, his head trembling under the weight of my gloved hand resting on top of it. 'It will be... fine in the end.' The words were false. I could hear the insincerity in my own voice, unintended, but horribly true. And if the Toad noticed, he made no comment, but continued to stare helplessly at the only speck of light left in the room. The solitary candle that was the only thing protecting us from the crushing darkness that loomed, waiting until it extinguished itself before it filled the room entirely like a black cloud.

I glanced at the Toad without looking away from the candle. His small eyes were frightened, but there was determination there. I saw it, and recognised it. No matter what happened, we would not allow ourselves to be scared of such a simple thing as darkness. I turned to face him properly, intending to speak. The instant I glanced away from the candle, its flame spluttered, coughed and went out.

Everything vanished. The Toad gave a short cry of fright but stifled it quickly, seeming more startled than afraid. I felt him clutching my hand with more force than I would have expected of him, as though he thought I would disappear if he let go of me. The darkness was consuming, fierce, greedy; it was like fire in its intensity, but nothing like the warm glow of the candle, the candle that had finally given up and abandoned us to the night.

From somewhere outside, a wolf lifted its powerful, deep-pitched voice in a rolling howl, resounding across the empty forest. When the howl ended, the silence took over. There was no sound. No sight. There was nothing apart from the bitter chill of the night and the savage grip of the Toad's hands around my foot. Matter no longer existed; there was only feeling, and as I turned my head from side to side in vain effort to catch a glimpse of _something, _I realised that we were utterly alone. Not even the boos had come to our rescue.

Imprisoned by darkness, I would have been happy, overwhelmingly happy, for even the smallest amount of light, and the memory of the white glow cast by the boos seemed quite inviting right now. But there was no-one. The night had taken over, swallowing the mansion like some enormous, starving predator. In wordless silence I reassured the Toad, and together we sat at the foot of the stairs and waited, and waited.

When there is no light to see by, a person's other senses are often sharper than usual, as though they are trying to make up for the loss of sight. Thus, I could smell the dust on the carpet, hear the tiny scraping sound of a rat underneath the floor, and feel the Toad clenching my foot, even through my shoe, with strength brought on by sheer fright and anxiety. With nothing to look at, nothing to see, I resorted to straining my ears in hope of hearing the soft sound of an approaching ghost, or the cackling laugh of a distant boo.

I had never wanted to be confronted by a ghost more than I did at that moment.

And the Toad felt that way too.

* * *

Deep out in the forest approximately half a mile away, a certain treasure thief was sitting beside a blazing campfire, enjoying the warmth it gave off. Behind him, he had parked his beloved black helicopter, leaving it under a large tree in order to protect it from the wind. Soon after he had landed the machine, a soft drizzling rain had begun to fall, soaking the earth and turning the fallen leaves to wet mush. A few drops of water slid down the helicopter's sleek, shiny sides, but it was in no danger from the rain, being impervious to both liquid and fire.

Wario had never been camping before, nor had he ever been forced to sleep outside, and especially not in the middle of a rain shower. Although the rain was not particularly heavy – at least not yet – the wind was picking up with every passing minute, blowing the water directly into his campfire and threatening to extinguish it. Eventually, he stamped out the embers with his foot and rebuilt the fire right underneath his helicopter, taking advantage of its high tail to construct his fire somewhere more sheltered. With the sleek plane of metal over his head, shielding both him and his campfire from the wind and rain, he was far more comfortable. Being out in a dark forest all night was hardly an appealing prospect, but he really didn't care as long as he didn't have to get wet as well.

However, the helicopter's tail was not entirely large enough to protect the campfire from the rain that was being blown in all directions by the savage wind. Before long the flames had been killed by the drenching downpour, and Wario, grumbling unintelligibly, kicked away the dusting of ashes on the wet ground and stomped over to his helicopter. Getting a grasp on the slippery side door, he threw it open with a resounding bang and prepared to jump inside the warm, peaceful interior of the vehicle; being rather short, it was sometimes difficult for him to reach the door of the enormous helicopter.

Rain made the ground below him slippery; one foot sheered in the mud. With a soft growl, he realised there was no chance of him getting into the helicopter in this kind of weather, not when the forest floor was drenched with water and he couldn't get any grip on it. He leaned a hand against the sharp edge of the door and considered the situation. Unless the rain let up soon, he would be left with no choice but to sleep outside, sheltered underneath the helicopter's wide tail. Although it would provide a small amount of protection from the howling wind and rain, it would be far from a comfortable place to rest.

He contemplated his options. It didn't take long for him to come up with a solution that might work, and he grinned slightly at the thought of it. With a bit of effort he reached up into the cockpit of his helicopter and, feeling around on the left-hand seat, finally found what he had been searching for: a flat, square-shaped piece of metal with a tall aerial protruding from the top edge. It was another of his inventions, and this one had taken a particularly long time to perfect. It was a communication device, similar to a radio but far more powerful. He had made only a single pair of them, keeping one for himself and giving the other one to his brother, along with strict instructions that it was to be used only for emergencies. Well, right now seemed like a good time to test out the device for the first time. He only hoped that it worked; the heavy rain and wind might interfere with the signal.

Still grinning, Wario switched the device on, causing a red light on the back to glow briefly before fading. He moved closer to the helicopter so it wouldn't get ruined by the rain; unlike his helicopter, the communication device was not waterproof. He brought it close to his ear and listened hard for a moment before speaking loudly into it, hoping that his brother wasn't too fast asleep to hear the call. 'Oi, where are you?' he growled rudely into the device, his grin disappearing when he received no reply from the other end of the line. He wondered vaguely, for a moment, whether Waluigi had decided to ignore him simply because he had been woken up in the middle of the night, but it would be uncharacteristic of him.

A muffled yawn from the other side, followed by a voice that still sounded half-asleep, but it was undoubtedly his brother. 'What do you want, Wario? It's nearly one 'o clock in the morning, you idiot!'

Wario's smile returned and he spoke back into the device, perhaps a little more loudly than he needed to: 'I'm stuck in the middle of Forever Forest here, and it's pouring with rain. Can you come over and lend me a hand?' Although it sounded like a question, Waluigi knew from bitter experience that when Wario asked for help, he was actually _ordering _someone to come and help him, and he got pretty annoyed if they didn't. It was probably safer not to risk the consequences of disobeying Wario at a time like this.

'Fine, fine...' the younger brother muttered reluctantly. 'Where're you exactly?'

Wario paused, hesitating, and took in his surroundings. There were a lot of green pine trees, unlike the dead plants growing all around the mansion like tall skeletons rising up out of the ground. It was wet from the rainstorm. Now that he looked at it properly, he noticed that he was actually standing in the middle of a large irregular clearing that, if it was viewed from high in the air, would have been in the rough shape of a mushroom. Well, well, that _was _a convenient place to have stopped for the night! He quickly described the location to Waluigi, who sighed inaudibly in resignation upon realising that he really had no excuse to ignore Wario's request now.

'All _right, _I'll be there in twenty minutes,' he grunted, about to turn off the communication device into which he had been speaking, but Wario's sharp voice stopped him with his finger on the switch.

'Make it ten minutes.'

This time the sigh was clearly audible but, again, Waluigi had no choice but to obey his older brother's command. 'I'll need to borrow your bike if you expect me to get there so fast.'

Wario frowned a little; he was extremely fond of his motorbike, which was the only vehicle apart from his helicopter he had built himself. He also didn't want to see it get muddy and wet from speeding through Forever Forest in this horrible weather, but unfortunately for him, he had no other option; Waluigi could not reach him quickly without that bike, so he had no choice but to trust his (admittedly more sensible) younger brother with it. 'Fine, but be careful. And I mean the bike, not you,' he added warningly. 'If you so much as _scratch _the paint...'

'Shut up, Wario, the bike will be OK,' said Waluigi, and without another word he switched off his communication device, causing Wario's to turn itself off as well. With a grunt, he tossed it carelessly back inside the helicopter and leaned against the interior of the door, shielded from the pouring rain, where he stood stock-still and awaited his brother's arrival.

* * *

We were fully expecting to be surrounded by darkness until morning came, and the rise of the sun gave life back to the mansion and chased the night away. The candles had gone out several minutes ago and, in the space of time that had elapsed since then, both me and my Toad companion had started to grow used to the dark. It wasn't so bad after you had been stuck in it for so long, although we were both far from comfortable. The night made me uneasy – the same way I felt when I first came face-to-face with BooGie earlier. Not knowing that he had no intention of harming me, I had run away in sheer terror, without even stopping to think about what I was doing; running without pause until I had nowhere left to run. But after BooGie had introduced himself to me and proved that he was not evil, as I had originally feared, I had started to trust him, even _like _him. I doubted I could ever have a ghost as a friend, but after I entered this mansion, I began to learn that ghosts were not all bad.

Sitting at the foot of the stairs in pitch darkness with only the young Toad by my side gave me a similar feeling; I was not really frightened anymore, not now. But I was nervous, and I couldn't help thinking how easy it would be for someone to creep up behind us when we couldn't even see each other. It was a restless feeling, like that of a wild animal trapped in a cage, snarling and pacing up and down uneasily. I knew that the Toad was having similar thoughts, although I didn't know how I knew.

It wasn't so terrifying once you got used to it, and I had decided that a long time ago. Even when I had first entered the mansion and the door had slammed shut on me, it wasn't the darkness itself that frightened me, it was the things that might be lurking in it, unseen and unheard, like soft shadows crawling up the walls. Many people are uneasy in the dark, but I had quickly learned that it wasn't the darkness that is frightening, but rather whatever is _in _the darkness, which you are unable to see. What you can't see, you don't trust. That was what I used to think, and I've discovered that it's true for others as well.

My gloved hand was resting lightly on the Toad's head, not just for reassurance, but also because it provided a comfortable armrest. Once I had gotten over my fear of the dark I even started to feel bored, and I began to hum a little tune, much to the Toad's apparent amusement. Noticing this, I tried softly humming different tunes, and by the time we had been sitting in the dark for half an hour, I had used nearly every song I could think of.

Just as I was finishing 'Along the Mushroom Path', a short song Mario had made up out of boredom, we both heard the faint sound of a door creaking open from somewhere deep within the mansion. We both froze instinctively, my hand resting more heavily on the Toad's head, as we desperately listened. A few seconds later there came the sound of a door banging shut, but the utter darkness of the room meant that we could not see anything of what might be happening. So we sat still and waited, a little nervous, and wondering whether it was a ghost or perhaps one of the other lost Toads we were hearing.

Suddenly a bright white light exploded a few feet in front of us, and we both yelped and shielded our eyes with an outstretched arm, nearly blinded. The light dimmed considerably and I heard what sounded suspiciously like the word 'sorry'. I lowered my arm enough to see past it, and watched as the bright circle of light formed itself into a small boo, who grinned apologetically at us and stuck his tongue out.

'Sorry about that,' he repeated, still grinning. 'I teleported down here from the meeting hall, and teleportation usually makes a big flash of light... kind of like that. I wasn't expecting to come out right in front of you, I didn't even know you were there.' I rolled my eyes. Although I would never say it aloud, I was very glad that BooGie had found us, because sleeping on the stairs all night was not a nice thought, even if we had grown used to the dark during the time we had spent here together.

'Why didn't you come sooner?' I asked, standing up and brushing some flecks of dust off myself, helping the young Toad up with me.

'I wanted to follow you as soon as you... well, ran for it,' BooGie admitted, 'but his Highness insisted that I stay until he had finished talking to old GameBoo Advance. Since as you weren't there at the time, I'll have to fill you in on the details myself. Basically, the King thinks that treasure thief is hiding out in the forest somewhere, waiting for the right moment to do whatever he's planning to do. GameBoo Advance confirmed his suspicions. Apparently, he can 'see' the thief out in the forest, but he doesn't know how long he's going to stay there, _or _what he's intending to do.' The boo's body tipped to one side, and his massive tongue hung out of his mouth in a goofy expression. 'Real useful 'powers' he's got, don't you think?'

I shook my head, noticing the Toad did not seem frightened of BooGie, although he did appear curious. 'Listen, I think I know exactly who your treasure thief is. He's an old enemy of my brother Mario.'

'Reeeaaallly? BooGie was intrigued. 'So, what's his name?'

To my surprise the little Toad spoke up before I did, his voice clear and strong and unafraid. 'His name's Wario!'

At once, there was a blinding white flash that seemed to fill up the whole room. It was ten times more powerful than the flare of light caused by BooGie's teleportation, and both me and the Toad had to shield our eyes again to avoid getting possibly permanent vision damage. This time, I didn't lower my arm when one of the newly-arrived boos spoke, its tone of voice low and hissing, almost dangerous. 'Wario? Who said that name?!'

'Cool it, BooLicious,' I heard BooGie say hastily, trying to defend us from the seemingly angry crowd of ghosts. 'They haven't done anything wrong, we were just talking about who the treasure thief could be. We decided it must be Mario's rival, Wario.'

Suddenly, a thought came into my mind – the real reason I had come to this mansion in the first place, but until now I had ignored it. Now the memory resurfaced, and I lowered the arm that was protecting my eyes so I could look directly at BooGie, who was gazing back at me anxiously. 'I should have asked you this ages ago, but...' I stopped. It was unnerving, trying to speak when I was surrounded by at least ten boos who were all giving me intense stares as though expecting me to make a very important announcement. I cleared my throat and continued cautiously, 'I – I only came to this mansion because... I was searching for Mario.'

There was a low murmur among the boos, like the droning sound made by a flying bumblebee. I sensed that they were surprised by my revelation, but I didn't give them time to discuss it, instead looking back at BooGie and saying, 'Mario came here nearly two days ago to investigate, and he never returned. I was sent after him to make sure he was all right... surely one of you must have seen him?' My voice rose to a high-pitched, pleading tone at the end; I had never been so worried about anything in my life. Mario could be anywhere – trapped in the mansion, lost in the forest... maybe even Wario had something to do with his disappearance!

But when I glanced back up at BooGie hovering in front of me, his expression was neither happy nor thoughtful. Instead, he looked as though he was trying to find the kindest way to explain something unpleasant to a small child. My last hope vanished on the spot. They had no idea where Mario was.

And if the ghosts hadn't found him, what was the chance that I would?


	6. Chapter 6 - Lost

**Author's Note: This chapter is only from Waluigi's point of view, so sorry if anyone hates Waluigi, but I needed to describe what was happening out in the forest.  
**

**I don't think it's the best chapter so far, but it's difficult writing a long chapter from a single character's point of view. I also didn't have many ideas for this part of the story. But enjoy it anyway. :)**

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Chapter 6: Lost

If the rain didn't stop soon, there was no chance of the ground drying out before morning came around. Every acceleration of Wario's high-powered motorbike caused the tires to skid wildly on the mushy carpet of wet leaves that seemed to have taken the place of the usually dry forest floor. Also, it was becoming extremely difficult to see anything, even though Waluigi had much better night-vision than most people. The pouring rain was like a wall in front of him, blocking his view of the low-hanging tree branches that he really didn't want to drive into, but it couldn't be helped. And those weren't his only problems either, and they were certainly not his worst ones – Wario was going to be rightfully furious if his little brother crashed in the middle of the forest and destroyed his beloved motorbike. So thought Waluigi as he continued to speed through the trees, brushing past the thorny undergrowth and swerving madly every few seconds to avoid an overhanging branch that almost took his head off as he drove underneath it. Annoyingly, the wind happened to be blowing quite forcefully at him from the left side, and kept pushing the bike off-course.

Forever Forest had never looked more sinister or intimidating as it did at that moment, with the dead, blackened trees looming on either side of the overgrown pathway that curved crookedly between them, and the overlarge grey moon shining directly in front of him, seeming to fill up the whole sky. The rain was distracting, and even more so because it was the middle of the night and it was hard to see anything anyway. The bike's headlights provided minimal relief from the pitch darkness, but Wario had constructed the vehicle so badly that the headlights were draining the battery too fast. After five minutes of speeding through the black forest and noticing how persistently the engine was starting to splutter at him, Waluigi had resorted to switching off the lights and using the faint silver glow from the moon to see what lay ahead; however, the bike was already dangerously close to death, judging by the sounds it was making. Wario wasn't likely to appreciate the loss of one of his most prized inventions, especially when they might need the motorbike to get home later on.

All right, they would still have Wario's sleek helicopter, which could probably fly for hundreds of miles without needing to top up on the expensive mushroom fuel that Wario liked using for some reason. But Waluigi had an awful feeling that they were going to _need _this motorbike at some point, so it wouldn't be good to let it run its battery down by leaving the headlights on or something stupid like that. Besides, he could see well enough without the extra light, using the moon's glow and his own exceptional night-vision.

The sound of wood crunching underneath the bike's front wheel took him by surprise, and he quickly identified the offending obstruction as a tree root. It had been growing upwards through the path in a crooked line, and had he been looking where he was going he probably could have swerved fast enough to avoid it. As it was, he had driven straight over the root and, judging by the heavy jolt of the bike as it cleared the obstacle, he had damaged the front wheel in some way. With a resigned sigh, he accelerated and kept driving, trying to ignore the pathetic spluttering of the engine as its last life faded from it, causing its speed to reduce drastically as Waluigi pushed it on through the forest.

Minutes passed, filled with nothing except the endless view of the path and the deep-pitched rumbling of the huge motorbike. The moon hung in the sky in front of him, seeming to cover all the midnight-blue sky behind it, glowing like a silver candle flame. It looked too large to be real, and it made him wonder if Forever Forest was somehow closer to the moon than the rest of the Mushroom World; it was a ridiculous concept, but it might have had some truth in it. The low droning of the bike drowned out everything else with a sound like an irritated bumblebee, but he slowly became aware that the engine was spluttering worse than before, and every so often he would hear a loud cough, which was invariably accompanied by the feel of the bike's speed dropping abruptly. He responded by accelerating even further, pushing the vehicle to its limits and hoping that he could at least reach his destination before it died on him.

'Last time I'm getting involved in Wario's crazy plans...' he muttered, though his voice was not audible over the sound of the engine roaring.

Suddenly, the entire bike jerked forwards and pitched into the ground nose-first, as though it had been tipped over by something. The world seemed to roll over, sky and land reversing rapidly, as the bike skidded wildly and finally collapsed onto its side. Startled into action, Waluigi snatched his foot out from underneath the bike the instant before it touched the forest path, flipped upright in mid-air with a rush of wind, and landed perfectly balanced on both feet. Turning back, he immediately knelt down beside the fallen vehicle as though it was a dying person; he could tell just by glancing at it that the bike was of no further use to him. The front wheel, the one that had already been damaged by driving over that tree root earlier, had broken off completely and now lay on its side in the dirt, looking rather sad and forlorn. Waluigi's mind worked quickly as he struggled to absorb the wreckage of the motorbike, his brother's most treasured possession, lying in several broken-up pieces before his very eyes.

Well, this was great. Not only was Wario going to kill him when they next saw each other, he also had no way of reaching his older brother now; the forest was dangerous to explore on foot and he had no weapons on him. But he soon realised the more pressing concern at the moment – finding out exactly what had caused the sturdy motorbike to topple over and lose a wheel as though it had been hastily constructed out of paper and cardboard.

He turned his head, staring suspiciously into the forest, towards the end of the path that was swallowed in darkness. His eyes flicked from tree to tree, expecting something to leap out and attack him, maybe a ghost or some other, more dangerous forest creature – but the area seemed to be deserted. With a long sigh, he grabbed what remained of the motorbike and dragged it off the path with little effort, leaving it propped up against the nearest tree. Although it was very unlikely that anyone else would be driving through Forever Forest, especially at this time of the night, he supposed that it was only safe to leave the path clear in case somebody _did _come by. He didn't want to end up stranded in the forest with another person until morning.

He resisted the urge to sigh a second time, and sat down precariously on the edge of the motorbike, which was still leaning crookedly against the twisted tree trunk. The white glow of the moon was the only reason he wasn't completely blind in this kind of darkness, which defied even his above-average night-vision. He had never told anyone, but he actually hated the dark just as much as Luigi did, and he was really starting to regret agreeing to drive out here and help his idiotic older brother. He had never known just how dangerous Forever Forest could be at night, until he was forced to travel through the middle of it.

The rain continued to pour down, dripping off the spidery branches of the tree above him, making a steady rhythm as it pattered against the forest floor with surprising softness. The sound was... soothing. At first he was suspicious, thinking that the rain was lulling him into a false sense of security. He knew from experience that he should never trust things like this; long years of bitter, hard experience mostly gained from working alongside his brother. Of course, there were others who were responsible, the reason he was so mistrustful these days, and the gentle sound of the drizzling rain brought back memories he thought he had forgotten by now.

He shifted half an inch sideways on the seat of the bike, and immediately he picked up the sound of something moving, rustling in the undergrowth. He was instantly alert, standing upright and taking hold of the bike's handlebars, ready to throw it in front of him as a shield or a weapon if necessary. As he stared suspiciously around, nearly blind in the night's shadow, his eyes noticed tiny details that he would not have seen in a more ordinary situation: a patch of wet leaves a few feet from his right side, probably slippery if he happened to walk over them, and a large black bird with glowing crescent-shaped eyes perched in the bough of the tree he had rested the motorbike against.

The rustling had long since stopped, but Waluigi could tell that whatever had made the noise – whether it was a person or an animal – was still lurking nearby. Probably watching him with the same mistrust he was showing as he glared at the surrounding forest. But the difference between them was that _he_ had no chance of fleeing if he encountered a dangerous creature; he could run fast, faster than both Mario and Luigi and certainly faster than Wario. But if there was a dangerous animal stalking him, there was a good chance that it had four legs and could move much faster than he would ever be able to. And with the bike dead and missing one wheel, it was absolutely useless to him if he was in a situation where he needed to escape quickly. He doubted he would even be able to get the engine to start, and even if he could, there was no way he could drive off on a bike that only had one wheel.

He made no sound as he stood there, as still as the trees surrounding him. Thirty seconds passed in dead silence. Not even the wind could be heard anymore. He wondered vaguely when it had stopped raining, for he had only just noticed the lack of water dripping off the front of his cap, although the ground was still wet and slippery. The currents of air that had been so strong just a few minutes ago had faded to nothing; not even the faintest breeze broke the stillness that had captured the atmosphere, freezing it in time. Nothing moved nor made a noise.

Waluigi slowly straightened up from the half-crouch he had fallen into, although his eyes continued to dart from place to place, convinced that he wasn't alone in the forest despite the fact that nothing had happened yet. He glanced towards the tallest and blackest of the trees, looming up from the rough ground like a gravestone, twisted and half-hidden in shadow, its spindly branches reaching across the path like stretching fingers. There was something about that particular tree that he found unsettling, aside from its appearance.

Then the howl broke out. Distant, coming from somewhere far away but still within the forest; cold, lonely, mournful, rising and falling in pitch, from a deep-voiced cry to a low whine that echoed eerily. He had heard it before, and he recognised it immediately as the sound he connected with that day, four years ago, still sharp in his memory and long forgotten by everyone else.

_It was a freezing-cold night, the biting wind whistling through the treetops and stirring the air powerfully. Leaves rustled, and yellow sand and dust was blown up from the bone-dry ground and whipped from side to side, gripped by the strength of a storm that nobody had predicted. On the beach, a small group huddled together for safety, every one of them facing the grey ocean as it seemed to erupt upwards like a volcano. The tidal wave appeared to stand threateningly above them for a few seconds as they all stared up at it, then it crashed down across the shore with a slapping sound that could be heard miles away._

_He was standing further back than the others, under the shelter of a tree at the edge of the beach, but his gaze fixed on the ocean was no less intense than theirs. He heard the pathetic, high-pitched voice of the green-capped plumber Luigi, speaking up over the wild crashing of the waves: 'D-do you think they'll m-make it?'_

_The older brother, Mario, shrugged wordlessly and removed his cap, squeezing the water out of it before answering, 'I don't know. The sea looks too rough for them to approach the shore.' He spoke with an Italian accent, and his voice was stronger than Luigi's, but his fear was obvious. Another tidal wave rose up, looming over their heads like an enormous, menacing monster, and they instinctively dodged out of the way as it came slamming down on the sand, spraying water in all directions._

_From out of the mist that shrouded the ocean, a small white ship emerged. It was rocking back and forth with a violence that made him wonder how it hadn't toppled sideways yet, but it was managing to stay upright so far. The wind had ripped off its sails and left them in tatters, but the ship had survived and made it to shore. A slow, tired round of applause started up as the passengers climbed off the deck, staggering slightly after their rough journey at sea._

_Waluigi glanced backwards into the forest. Nobody else had noticed, but he was sure there was something hidden in the trees, watching the people on the beach; he saw a flash of grey and white and instinctively jumped back. A huge wolf crept into sight, its enormously long claws leaving strangely shaped footprints in the sand as it trotted forwards, a slight snarl wrinkling its sharp muzzle. Its glistening teeth protruded slightly from under its curled upper lip as it growled, watching the large group on the shore._

_Waluigi considered shouting a warning, but he hesitated for too long. The massive creature suddenly bounded forth in a surge of speed, its heavy paws pounding into the sand, a howl rising in its throat. The howl echoed mournfully across the grey ocean, audible even above the wrath of the storm. Mario and Luigi turned to look when they heard the noise, and when they spotted the wolf, they both crouched close to the ground in preparation for battle. The other people on the beach backed away in fear, their eyes fixed on the terrible creature as it charged, howling, towards the __two brothers._

That had been one of the most spectacular battles he had ever witnessed, even though he had watched it all from his safe perch in a nearby tree, unwilling to join in the fight himself. Together Mario and Luigi had defeated the creature, thus saving the newly-arrived Princess Daisy and her friends from quite possibly being eaten; the sight of them overpowering the savage, hungry wolf had somehow caught in Waluigi's memory forever. Everyone else could barely remember the incident, even Mario and Luigi themselves.

He shook his head suddenly and sharply, irritated that he had lost concentration considering how much danger he was currently in; that wolf howl had been far too close for his liking, and he suspected the creature already knew where he was, or at least had an idea of his whereabouts. He grabbed the cold, rain-splattered handlebars of Wario's ruined motorbike without thinking and forcefully hurled it up the path, where it rolled away and disappeared between a group of closely-packed, shadowed trees. If he was lucky, the remains of the bike would distract the wolf long enough for him to follow the path upwards until he discovered the place where Wario was supposedly hiding; it couldn't be much further away from here, probably a few minutes' walk away if he moved fast.

Without wasting another second, he started off in the direction he had been travelling in earlier, when he was still on the motorbike. The wolf's howl rang out again, and it sounded dangerously near this time, but it did not seem to be pursuing him. He hadn't been particularly lucky tonight, but hopefully the creature would be too interested in the abandoned bike to chase after him. Glancing repeatedly backwards, he continued walking, more quickly, the sound of the wolf's snarling and growling getting louder behind him – maybe it _was _following him after all. Then, as he neared the end of the rock-covered pathway, the silver moon's glow bathing the forest with a soft, soothing radiance, he heard an unmistakable voice calling to him from somewhere up ahead. He let out a long breath of relief; it was his brother.

'Get over here!' Wario bellowed, a note of concern in his voice, which was slightly odd considering Waluigi had crashed and destroyed his beloved motorbike. 'We can use my helicopter as shelter. Just hurry up before that _thing _realises where you are!'

Then, just as Waluigi glimpsed his older brother standing in front of him, silhouetted by the moon's pearly glow, there was an abrupt savage snarlfrom directly behind him. The two brothers' eyes met for an instant, wordlessly communicating, then the wolf leapt into plain sight, and they found themselves faced with a monster even bigger than they could ever have expected.

It was a ghost wolf, transparent and off-white, its ears pressed back against its head, its feet making no noise as it hovered slightly above the forest floor. Although neither of them knew, it had escaped from the haunted mansion, and now it was out looking for prey.

And to its delight, it found _them._


	7. Chapter 7 - Sunrise

**Author's Note: This is the longest chapter so far (though it's only 148 words longer than the second-longest chapter) and it's from Luigi's point of view.**

**In case you're wondering, this story will have exactly forty chapters when it's finished.**

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Chapter 7: Sunrise

The silence of the mansion filled my ears as I awoke, feeling somehow louder than anything I had heard since I ventured inside. For some reason, the crushing silence was worse than the darkness, which I had gradually become accustomed to since my long stay in the pitch-black foyer with the Toad last night. It pressed against the walls and allowed no sound to creep in through the cracked glass of the window, or under the gap in the rotting wooden door that prevented me from seeing out into the hallway beyond it. The quietness was crushing, everlasting; the utter lack of any noise made me panic for a moment, thinking, ridiculously, that I had gone deaf overnight. Then I remembered that the mansion was always quiet, even in the middle of the day – _especially _in the middle of the day. The ghosts were nocturnal and were almost never seen during the sunlit hours, preferring to conceal themselves deep in the mansion's basement or some other place where they could live in pitch darkness until twilight came around again. The boos were a little more tolerant of the sunlight – it did not actually harm them – but even they would rarely venture outside until night-time.

When I awoke, it was in a large and slightly musty-smelling single bed, with grey sheets and pillows. Not normal grey, but _dusty _grey, like they had never been washed, and the scent that clung to them reminded me of something that I might find in a museum. I briefly tried to recall when I had gone to bed last night. It seemed like only a few seconds since I fell asleep, surrounded by darkness, but not silence. In fact, when I finally retreated to this old guest bedroom after being rescued from the foyer by BooGie, I could hardly believe the commotion going on downstairs; it sounded like every ghost in the mansion had gathered into the foyer for a wild party. Several times I even thought I heard music, but there couldn't be any functional radios or sound systems in this old house, and I doubted the ghosts knew how to play instruments.

But now, all was dead silence. Whatever the ghosts had been up to last night, they had definitely stopped now, and I couldn't hear a thing coming from the floor below me. I wasn't in any real hurry to go downstairs, and the warmth of this bed wasn't something I was immediately willing to leave behind, despite the awful musty smell that clung to the pillow I had my nose buried in. I glanced up, hoping to see a clock on the wall, but there was nothing in the room that I could possibly use to find out what time it was. I waited for what I guessed was a few more minutes, then, reluctantly, I kicked the thin covers backwards and stumbled out of the bed, which happened to be nearly three feet off the floor.

I made my way over to the small window, which was completely covered by a heavily embellished red curtain. It would have been a nice addition to the room if it wasn't as dusty as the bed sheets, and I wondered whether it would be worth my time to try and clean up this mansion a bit during my stay. Coughing on the dust, I pulled the curtains back and stared out of the cracked glass, slightly surprised by the almost – _almost – _pleasant sight that met my eyes. The forest of dead trees surrounded the mansion on all sides, stretching as far as I could see, and those ugly gravestones still stood in the front lawn, sticking up crookedly from the ground like jagged teeth. But the sky was a dark, rich blue, like sapphires, and the sun glowed with incredible brightness right over the mansion's roof. I was startled to realise that it was almost at its highest point in the sky, meaning that I had slept in much longer than I probably should have done, but it wasn't like the ghosts were going to care what time I woke up. I doubted they actually slept at all, and judging by the noise I had heard last night, they were perfectly happy to stay up until the break of dawn doing goodness knows what without getting tired.

The window was stiff from lack of use, but I managed to force it open. It would be nice to get some fresh air blowing through; maybe it was erase the horrible musty smell that I had only noticed when I woke up this morning. Leaving the window half-open to allow the cool breeze in, I began looking around the room for my hat, which I vaguely remembering taking off before I went to bed last night. I whistled as I searched for it – an old habit which Mario found endlessly annoying – but it seemed to have disappeared. I couldn't even recall where I had left it the night before, although I usually did, and I took much better care of my hat that Mario did. During my search, I accidentally brushed the ancient bookshelf with my arm, knocking loose a huge amount of dust and a small, flimsy square of paper.

Reflexively, I snatched it out of the air before it could touch the floor, and lifted it to eye level. It was a message, which I assumed had been left on the shelf for me to find when I woke up. The handwriting was neat, extremely neat, but so small that it was almost impossible to see what had been written. I was forced to work out what each individual letter was before I could read the entire thing out loud, and even then it didn't seem to make a lot of sense, though it was clearly meant to be an explanation of some kind:

_Hey, Luigi –_

_Just wanted you to know, most of the boos are leaving the mansion at dawn, to search the forest for any sign of Wario. I'm going too, might not be back for a few hours. If you need anything, King Boo and GameBoo Advance are still at home, though I wouldn't recommend talking to the latter. In case you're wondering, that Toad is sleeping in the smaller guest bedroom, next-door to yours. Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone, all right?_

_BooGie_

'Don't get into any _trouble? _What's that supposed to mean?' I muttered out loud, feeling mildly insulted; it was more likely to be BooGie getting himself in trouble out there in the forest, with Wario and his monsters to deal with. But at least the mansion wasn't completely deserted as I had feared before. Then again, it might have been better if there wasn't anyone at home; I knew King Boo didn't trust me and I certainly didn't trust GameBoo Advance. Then I noticed some smudged, hastily scribbled writing at the very bottom of the note, and my eyes snapped down to it, realising that it was another part of BooGie's message.

_P.S. Your hat's under your pillow. And I don't want to know why you put it there._

I fought back a laugh as I strolled over to the enormous bed, throwing the note back in the direction of the bookshelf. It was so characteristic of BooGie to add a comment like that at the end of his message, and I could just imagine his expression as he wrote that part down. It was so obvious that he was unable to grasp why I always put my hat underneath my pillow before I went to bed. I wasn't entirely sure myself; it was just one of my old habits, like the incessant desire to whistle, usually when I was deep in thought and barely noticing what I was doing. Mario really hated it when anyone whistled; it was one of those things he simply could not tolerate for any length of time, especially when I was the one making the noise.

Digging under the filthy pillow with both hands, I was relieved to discover that BooGie had not been lying in his message; the hat was there, safely tucked away, probably with that awful musty smell clinging to it but otherwise undamaged. I brushed it off, wishing there was some clean water in the mansion so I would be able to wash it properly, but since as the ghosts didn't need water I supposed that was unlikely. I was lucky that I had brought enough supplies with me to last through a week-long camping trip; hopefully, I wouldn't have to stay in this place for longer than that, but it all depended on how long it all took. How long it took for me to track down Mario's whereabouts and find him, wherever he was; how long the ghosts needed to thwart Wario's treasure-thieving intentions. It might be a very long time, months, perhaps, before I saw my older brother again.

The fact that the ghosts hadn't seen him unsettled me, probably a lot more than it ought to have. I knew that Mario had disappeared off into the forest to investigate the mansion exactly a day before I was sent to follow him. He couldn't have gone far during that time, but what if something bad had happened to him before he even reached the mansion? What if Wario had found him and somehow captured him?

Suddenly, I realised what I could do to make my search for Mario easier, although it was by far the most dangerous thing I had attempted since entering the mansion. From what BooGie had written in his message, there were still at least two boos left in the house after the rest of them had gone out into the forest to look for Wario. I was averse to speaking with them, or communicating with them at all, but their help could be invaluable if only I could muster the courage to actually find them and talk to them. The reason? One of those boos had the ability to predict the future, and any events that might take place in it. If anyone had an idea of where Mario might be at this exact moment, GameBoo Advance did; and as much as I hated the prospect of having to trust him with important information about Mario, he might be my only hope of ever reuniting with my older brother.

I was thinking so hard that I did not immediately realise that I was still holding my slightly dusty hat. Running a hand through my hair, which had become messy during the night, I threw the hat on and began to hurry downstairs in search of the only two remaining boos. I hoped not to have any contact with the mistrustful King during my journey to the mansion's foyer, where I guessed the ghosts would be; however, I was strangely worried by the possibility that I might not even be able to find GameBoo Advance. I had only met him once, but it was already clear that he was an elusive ghost and, though he was obviously respected, was trusted very little. I was also aware that he only seemed to show himself when he had an important piece of news to share, such as when he had experienced another one of his 'visions' of the future, and so far I had only seen him at the Full Moon meeting that was held last night.

Being new to ghost traditions, I had limited knowledge of these 'meetings' that seemingly took place once a month on the night of the full moon. Every ghost in the mansion was called into a single room to discuss everything that had happened recently and was worth talking about, whether it was genuinely important or just ridiculous; it also seemed to be a normal occurrence for GameBoo Advance to show himself and inform the King that he had had another predication of upcoming events. But from what I could tell, the strange boo didn't appear at all except during these meetings, so how was I supposed to locate him to ask him about Mario? And even if I did manage to find him, would he actually share his information with me – someone who isn't even a ghost and potentially untrustworthy?

Although I hadn't explored the mansion thoroughly enough to know exactly where all the twisting corridors led to, I managed to find my way to the foyer without getting lost, and it was far less dark than I had expected. The sunlight streamed in through the windows, whose curtains had already been pulled aside, probably by a helpful ghost who knew I would have trouble wandering around in the dark. It seemed unnaturally bright after spending so long in the pitch-black mansion, but it was far from unwelcome, and I felt relieved at being able to see clearly for the first time since yesterday afternoon.

The foyer looked surprisingly... pleasant. All of the half-melted candles still stood around the room, unlit, but providing an old-fashioned kind of decor that I found remarkably appealing. The small house I shared with my brother was nice enough to live in, but it lacked any kind of style that would make people really remember it. This mansion, on the other hand, had a strange feel to it that I liked, even if it was dusty and haunted with possibly hundreds of ghosts... and I was shocked to realise that I no longer feared nor hated the place. In fact, even the ghosts didn't seem quite so terrifying in broad daylight; or at the very least, they didn't make me want to run away screaming at the sight of them. Not anymore.

But it only took me a minute or so to fully absorb the newfound beauty of the mansion, and then my original fear, the one that had been bothering me since I left the bedroom, returned to me. What if I couldn't find GameBoo Advance? What if he was hiding somewhere in the deeper parts of the house, or was deliberately avoiding me for some reason? He was my final hope and my last resort, the only way I could get an idea of where Mario was so that I could rescue him. And what if GameBoo Advance refused to help me – or worse, if he was unable to see where my brother was at this moment? I had no idea whether he could use his predication abilities at will, and even if he could, there was a good chance that he would refuse my request simply because he didn't like me or because I wasn't a ghost. And if he couldn't help me find Mario, then I would truly be lost.

'Worrying over nothing again? How very like you,' I heard a sinister, hissing voice from somewhere behind me; it sounded like it was only inches away. I yelped and jumped away so fast that my left foot slipped out from under me, and I would have tripped completely if I had not reached out and grabbed the banister of the staircase by pure instinct as I fell. The cold, smooth feel of the polished wood calmed me slightly, but the moment I turned around to view the person behind me, all my old fears of ghosts returned tenfold. For this was not the King, nor BooGie or any other ghost I was familiar with. Ironically, it was the very same ghost I had been so desperately searching for.

GameBoo Advance hovered ponderously a few feet away, drifting on the empty air in a cloud-like manner, the glowing whiteness of his body seeming to fill up more space that it actually did. In my eyes he was more terrifying than any other boo, and in every conceivable way; his canines were longer, his mouth wider, and his eyes smaller and darker and lacking the friendly glint I often saw in BooGie's. He was grinning as he watched me, or at least making an expression that resembled a grin, but it might have been a sneer. Although he was smaller than most of the boos I had seen, by far, there was something impressive about the way he floated there, barely moving and not speaking, and I was forcefully reminded of the powerful foretelling abilities that I knew he possessed. My fears slammed into me yet again, and I found myself wondering, in some dark depth of my brain, whether this ghost could read minds. If he could, I don't think I could cope with being near him.

'What's your name, mortal one?' he asked, his sly voice chilling me to the bone; I was unable to answer, but apparently I didn't need to. 'No need to tell me that, I already know almost everything there is to know about you. You are Luigi, you are a pathetic coward from what I've learned, and your original purpose for coming to our mansion was to locate your older brother, Mario, who has gone missing.'

So he _did _know something about Mario! I was relieved, unspeakably relieved, to hear those simple words from the strange ghost, but I was also uneasy by the amount of information he had gathered about me and my brother. In the last moments my fear had caused me to forget my real intention for coming here, but now my suspicion made me speak up.

'GameBoo Advance?' I asked, pleased that I hadn't stammered at all, which I normally did in the presence of ghosts.

'Coooorrect,' the old boo replied, drawing out the letter 'o' into a long note that reminded me of a wolf's howl. 'I knew you were going to come and search for me... I've known it since you set foot in this place.'

'Why didn't you tell me before?' I blurted out, feeling more and more nervous at the amount of information GameBoo Advance knew about me. What else lay in my future that he had predicted, and if he told me, would I be able to prevent anything bad happening?

'To interfere with the future is to destroy the present,' the ghost said, his tone suggesting that he was reciting this phrase from a book he had read years ago and remembered up to this day. 'The mysteries of predication should not be meddled with. If I told you your future, then you would be able to prevent it. And if you prevented it, then it wouldn't _be_ your future anymore, would it? And everything I told you wouldn't actually exist – but if it didn't exist, then how could you have known it to be able to prevent it?'

I felt a dull ache growing in the back of my skull, and decided it was probably a good idea to tell GameBoo Advance what I needed from him quickly.

'I-I have a request for you,' I said, noticing with slight annoyance that I had stammered the first word again. 'You mentioned that you know my brother has gone missing. I can't find him myself, I don't have any idea where he is. The other ghosts haven't seen him at all, and I think he might be out in the forest somewhere, and –'

'You want me to tell you where he is,' interrupted the old boo in a flat voice. I nodded wordlessly, feeling more nervous every time he spoke. 'As you ought to know by now, I have the ability to predict the future. The _future, _get it? And it's a very rare ability among us boos, as well, but I suppose you don't understand it properly.'

He tilted slightly to one side and observed me out of one shrewd black eye.

'What you don't understand is that the information you're looking for is not something that is _going _to happen, it's something that is _already _happening. I can tell you your fortune, I can predict the future, I can even make a wild guess what's forthcoming and there's a good chance I'll get it right. But I cannot tell you what is happening at this exact moment, and that's the information you desire; not the future, but the present.'

All my hopes vanished with those last few words, and I wished I had never gone to ask GameBoo Advance for help. I shouldn't have been stupid; anyone should have known that the strange ghost was a fortune-teller, not a television aerial. He couldn't tell me something that was happening right now, in an unknown part of the world, even though I had somehow convinced myself that he was able to do that. And even though it was my fault, because I was too much of an idiot to realise, I couldn't help feeling like it was GameBoo Advance who was wrong. 'Are you s-sure?' I asked him, in one last, desperate surge of hope, knowing that it was useless, knowing that he would not give me some miraculous solution.

As I had expected, he shook his head, yet I thought, just for a second, that I saw a gleam of sadness in his eye. 'Nothing I can do,' he said, confirming my fear and extinguishing my final hope. 'I'm sorry. This is probably the first time I've felt sorry for you since I predicted you coming to our mansion. But I can't figure out where your brother is, not even with abilities as powerful as mine are; they're just not _made _for this sort of thing, you know?'

'It's fine,' I said hastily, though I felt anything but fine at that moment. 'I'll find him some other way.' I started to turn away, losing my fear of ghosts in the face of my despondency and wanting nothing more than to go back to my bedroom upstairs; I had nothing more to say to GameBoo Advance. But he cleared his throat sharply behind my back, and I consented to turn, frowning slightly, and listen to him as he began speaking again.

'All is not lost yet,' he said. 'I might not know where your brother is now, but I can predict things that will happen to him in the future. That way, I might get an idea of where he is and whether he's in any danger.' His grin-sneer widened, and I was unsure how to respond, but hope was rising up in me again.

'Th-thanks,' I replied, noticing that he was looking at me in an expectant manner, as though awaiting an answer. 'Will you tell me if... if you have any predictions about him?' I sincerely wished that he would, though he was so solitary that he might refuse to speak to me after today's little meeting. I was now depending on him completely to find out where Mario was and to rescue him; without this ghost's help, I had no chance. He seemed vaguely amused by the obvious pleading note to my voice, and he deliberately paused for several seconds before replying slowly:

'Sure, kid. I'm on your side.'


	8. Chapter 8 - Sinister

**Author's Note: This chapter is from both Luigi and Wario's points of view. Enjoy, and please review if you have time. :) Also, I gave the Toad a name...**

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Chapter 8: Sinister

My very first day in the haunted mansion was nowhere near as horrifying as I had half-expected it to be, although I often found myself surprised by the number of secrets the old house seemed to contain. All of them were obvious signs of ghost inhabitation, and not all of them made sense or were particularly pleasant to witness. I would never forget the time I had, out of boredom and curiosity, wandered alone into the basement and discovered all the strangely-coloured rugs on the floor. Closer inspection revealed them to have been made from animal skins, including tigers and other large wild cats. It wasn't as though I was very fond of tigers, or had any real interest in wild animals at all, but it was still a shocking and slightly unnerving sight; I could only wonder where the animal skins came from, and how the ghosts had ended up owning them.

Tiger skins used as floor rugs weren't the most memorable peculiarity I happened across during my cautious exploration of the mansion. Late in the morning, I was searching around to see if there was any kind of bathroom in the place, as I was probably going to be staying here long enough to need one – though I didn't ask any of the ghosts about it, as I doubted they knew where all of the mansion's different rooms were anyway. That was my mistake earlier in the morning when I had asked a passing boo whether there was a kitchen anywhere, and he had just shrugged and said, 'Wander around until you find it.' So that was exactly what I did, and after that strange little incident, I always refrained from asking the ghosts for directions. I doubted they had any real need for bathrooms or kitchens anyway, which was why they didn't know where any of those rooms were.

However, these unusual occurrences didn't stop me from wanting to explore the rest of the mansion; after I had got over my fear of the dark – and I was almost used to the ghosts – I found myself plagued by curiosity. Even better, I wasn't alone during my travels, because the young Toad I had met last night in the foyer often accompanied me, talking constantly as we roamed the mansion's musty corridors together. He showed no fright when one of the more mischievous ghosts decided to materialise out of the dark in front of us. He did not seem nervous at all when I took him to the basement to see the tiger-skin rugs on the floor. And when we came across a toilet that had been blocked by ectoplasm, to the point where it wouldn't even flush properly anymore, he laughed rather than looked worried by it.

Although we did not realise it, we were gradually becoming more comfortable in the haunted mansion, less likely to tremble in the dark or jump in fright at a passing ghost. Both the Toad and I were growing accustomed to it all, even though we didn't notice the change as it was happening. Throughout our first day, we managed to enjoy ourselves and explore the mansion fully – a big difference from the night before, when we had been huddled on the staircase in the foyer, terrified by the pitch darkness on all sides, fearing that we would have to stay there for the long remainder of the night. As we spent the afternoon exploring, we didn't discuss the silent fear we both felt; what would happen when night came around again and there was nothing to light up the mansion when it grew dark. I hardly remembered going to bed last night, and somehow the Toad didn't remember either. How we ever got to sleep when we were still nervous of the darkness, I would never know.

But we didn't consider what our second night in the mansion would bring; we just enjoyed the daylight hours while we still could, investigating every room and corridor and even trying to clean up the house a little. The ordinary ghosts did not seem to care whether every flat surface was coated in a three-inch thick layer of dust, but I decided that we ought to tidy up a bit if we were planning to stay here, perhaps for weeks. Although I had really been hoping that we could escape after only a few days at most, it looked like that was going to be a vain hope. I still had no idea where Mario was, but with GameBoo Advance on my team, I might be able to get some valuable information on my missing brother's whereabouts soon enough.

It wasn't just me and the Toad there, despite that fact that most of the ghosts either ignored is or tried to scare us with practical jokes in dark hallways. During the mid-afternoon, while we were busy exploring the Music Room full of dusty instruments, BooGie appeared out of nowhere and tagged along with us for a while. He was talkative, even more so than my Toad companion, but there was nothing annoying about his constant chatter; I actually found his voice pleasant to listen to, in a detached sort of way, without actually paying attention to anything he was saying.

After the Music Room, however, the young boo left us, saying something about 'having other things to do' although I had no idea what ghosts liked doing in their free time. Blocking up toilets with ectoplasm? Practising their scary laugh in the mirror? I had a funny feeling that I probably didn't want to know any of it.

'Hey, Luigi,' the Toad said to me as we re-entered the mansion after investigating the Boneyard, 'I've been meaning to ask you since this morning, but we were too busy...' I thought I knew what he was going to say next, and I sighed quietly in anticipation of it. 'Have you found any clues to where Mario is yet?'

I saw his bright, hopeful face looking up at me from his two-and-a-half-foot height, and I wished I could give him something better – anything other than the negative answer that was all I could truthfully tell him. Somehow, I didn't think it would be a good idea to tell him about my alliance with GameBoo Advance; I thought it should be kept a secret, even though the old boo hadn't told me that I had to keep our deal to myself. 'No, I'm sorry,' I replied. 'I know you want to find Mario, but...' I trailed off, not knowing what to say to reassure the young Toad, who was staring at me with an expression of disbelief.

'B-but you p-promised you would find him...' he muttered. I didn't look back at him; he was practically threatening to burst into tears and I wasn't sure I could deal with that. I'd already had to stop him from crying last night, and I didn't want to have to repeat the procedure, especially since as I had no words to comfort him. 'Wh-what if he's in danger? We have to find him soon in case he needs help!'

I stretched out an arm and placed my hand carefully on the Toad's head with a very light touch. I wasn't sure if he could actually feel it, because I'd never found out whether or not a Toad's mushroom cap was just an elaborate hat which they never took off, or part of their own bodies. Considering they were mushroom people, I could guess it was the latter, but I still wasn't quite certain. Nevertheless, the simple gesture seemed to reassure the young Toad, and when he had stopped snivelling, I decided it was safe to speak aloud again. 'I don't think you ever told me your real name.'

He turned his head slightly in my direction, not quite looking at me but not looking at the floor either, which I supposed was an improvement over his recent near-crying. 'Most people don't call me by my real name,' he said. 'They usually call me Toad, like they do with other members of my race, because nobody can tell us apart unless we have different-coloured caps. I got used to that a long time ago, when I realised that nobody I talked to ever remembered what I was supposed to be called. But if you want to, you can call me Jak.'

I chewed over his words for a while, wondering whether Toads were ever given real names or whether they made up their own names when they were old enough. I had an instinctive feeling that the young Toad's explanation of his race's naming system would give me another headache, and I was only just recovering from the one GameBoo Advance gave me this morning with his explanations of predicting the future. So I made the decision to avoid asking any of the questions swirling around in my mind, and just walked alongside my small friend in peaceful, companionable silence. The corridors of the mansion reminded me of a spider's web twisting and spiralling across the corner of a ceiling, and it was easy to end up lost while exploring the vast collection of hallways, rooms, gardens and secret passages.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring, until we were forced to stop and find something to eat and drink. I still had all my supplies with me, which was very lucky for both of us, because I doubted that King Boo could have provided us with edible food. We sat down at the table in the dining hall, which was a vast, rectangular room, and thankfully empty. The emptiness confirmed my earlier suspicions; the ghosts did not eat and probably had no food or fresh water in the mansion either. That was when my supplies came in handy, although it was difficult trying to divide them equally between myself and Jak; I had only brought enough for a single person to last a few days. We would have to find some way of refilling our supplies tomorrow, even if we had to temporarily leave the mansion.

Nobody interrupted us while we were eating. It was a quiet dinner, and even Jak remained mostly silent throughout. I had half-expected to be set upon by curious ghosts the moment we sat down – they had probably never seen someone eating before – but to my relief, we were left undisturbed, at least until we had finished. That was when pandemonium showed itself at last.

Just as we were replacing the leftover food and water into the backpack I had been carrying around with me since yesterday, there was a series of loud noises right outside the dining hall door, which was still half-open. Exactly what the noises were, it was difficult to guess, but it sounded a little like a group of people playing basketball in the corridor. Jak and I glanced at each other and saw, simultaneously, the confusion on our faces, before we rushed out into the corridor to see what it was with our own eyes. The sight that greeted us was enough to freeze me on the spot with pure surprise, and I felt Jak stiffen beside me, his expression showing all the emotions that I was feeling myself at that moment.

'Well, don't just stand there!' I heard BooGie shout from somewhere amongst the crowd, his voice muffled. 'We could really use some more help here!'

I cautiously moved forwards into the enormous group of boos, trying to see what was causing the commotion that had already filled the corridor. The white forms of the ghosts, still faintly glowing despite the sunlight, were swarming around what looked like a tall, purple shape in the centre of the crowd. There were so many boos that I instantly knew they had returned from their 'expedition' into the forest this morning. And by the looks of things now, they had brought something, or someone, back with them. Yet I didn't believe it was Wario, and he was supposed to be the one who was planning to steal the ghosts' treasure from the mansion. Could GameBoo Advance... have been _wrong _in his prediction for perhaps the first time in his long life?

I felt a light touch on my shoulder and glanced around, jumping slightly in surprise, only to be confronted by the less-than-pleasant visage of GameBoo Advance himself. His expression of annoyance made me wonder, for the second time, whether he had the power to read minds, because he looked like he had just heard everything I was thinking. Then I realised that his beady black eyes were focused on the middle of the ghost crowd. His hand – if you could call it a hand – had sunk through my shoulder, and I reminded myself that ghosts couldn't touch people. I would have to ask BooGie about that some other time, when I wasn't so occupied with more important matters, like these ones.

'Rabble,' he sneered derisively, spitting out the word like it was something poisonous. 'That's all they are: a rabble. They act all excited, all pleased with themselves, but have they actually found the treasure thief? No, all they've found is some scrawny freak with a weird-looking moustache. The King must be so proud of them,' he added sarcastically. He would have continued complaining, although I had stopped listening to him, but he was interrupted by the appearance of the same 'scrawny freak' he was talking about.

I felt as though the roof had collapsed on me; I noticed Jak had gasped and hidden himself behind my legs like a frightened kitten. For I recognised this person, and so did the young Toad and the old boo; he was my rival, my enemy, and he even resembled me in some ways. But it was the realisation that he was Wario's brother, his partner in crime, that caused me to freeze on the spot. He knew where Wario was, and there was a good chance he knew where Mario was as well. He was now not only my enemy, but my only hope – my only hope for my lost brother's salvation.

* * *

Forever Forest had never been more silent... but it was no longer dark, now daylight had come to his rescue; that was _one_ thing to be grateful for, even if there was nothing else. Panting hard as he struggled to catch his breath, Wario glared down at the transparent, misty form of the ghost wolf as it prowled around the base of the tree, growling, leaving no marks upon the ground with its clawed paws. The monster's ears were pricked, its tongue hanging out, but that didn't fool him into thinking the wolf was trying to be friendly; the way its fangs were bared in an arrogant snarl told him everything he needed to know. And he also knew that the wolf couldn't reach him as long as he stayed up in this tree long enough. They might have many powers, but ghosts couldn't climb, and ghost wolves couldn't float. He was safe, for now.

It was his brother's desertion that shocked him most, even more than the fear of being stalked by a monster that he couldn't fight. He _never _thought Waluigi would abandon him, but the proof was dangling in front of his eyes and he couldn't ignore it any longer; his brother had run away into the forest while he wasn't looking, leaving him to deal with the ghost wolf alone and unaided. Possibly to be defeated, and possibly dragged off and eaten. And Waluigi hadn't even considered any of those possibilities before he ran off like a complete coward and left his brother behind, without any way to escape. It annoyed Wario even more than being forced to stay up a tree until morning, with the wolf walking around and around the bottom of the trunk in circles, never taking its eyes off him for a second. Certainly not long enough for him to make a run for it, although he knew he was much too slow to outrun a wolf, even a ghostly one.

But he was cunning. Many of his friends and servants alike had commented on the sly intelligence that allowed him to work his way out of trouble, even in impossible situations. There were very few problems that he couldn't defeat, and he didn't need the help of his cowardly good-for-nothing younger brother to do it. No matter what it took, he would find a way to escape from this stupid annoying ghost wolf. And after he had invaded the mansion and stolen all the treasure, he was going to find Waluigi and let him know how... irritated his older sibling was.

A chuckle escaped from the back of his throat as he allowed his sharp gaze to fix itself on the transparent, circling wolf who was waiting quite patiently for him to come down from the tree he had climbed. He looked into the wolf's dark-grey, burning eyes and he saw the intensity there. And the hunger. It would hunt him and continue hunting him until it caught him, and nothing, not even the world's greatest distraction, would slow its attempts to bring him down from his safe spot up in the tree. It wasn't the most comfortable place to hide in – it was a dead tree after all, with a lot of spiky branches – but if it would keep him out of the wolf's reach, he would stay there. Wario wasn't even certain that a _ghost _was capable of harming him, but he supposed ghosts were only transparent when they wanted to be.

Carefully, he lowered one foot off the branch it was resting on, pushing it downwards into thin air as though he was trying to descend a ladder. He saw the ghost wolf's immediate reaction, the way its pointed ears flattened against its head and its eyes narrowed in silent threat, or warning; it ceased stalking around the tree trunk and instead sat back, its claws neatly tucked underneath its curled paws, looking up at him as alertly as a trained dog. From the wolf's change in behaviour, Wario knew that it would try to attack him the moment he put his foot on the ground. That meant there was no chance of him jumping down from the treetop and running away... if only he could reach his helicopter, he could fly away to safety, or simply shut the door and the wolf wouldn't be able to get him...

He narrowed his own eyes, in concentration rather than menace, and tried to come up with a suitable escape plan that didn't involve him getting his leg bitten off while trying to run away. As he glanced towards the ground, he noticed that his helicopter – his beautiful, sleek, black helicopter – was standing quite close to his tree. It was perhaps five feet away horizontally, and six feet below him vertically. In fact, one of the long propeller arms was almost directly underneath the top of the tree; if he could jump down fast enough, he could land on that propeller, then open the door and get inside the cockpit... all _before _the ghost wolf managed to catch him. It was worth a shot, but it was dangerous; then again, he wasn't drowning in choices at the moment.

He risked another cursory glance at the ghost wolf, who had started circling around the tree once more, always watching him, never looking away even for a split second, not even appearing to blink. If he waited until the wolf was around the _other_ side of the tree, away from the helicopter – separated from him by the trunk itself – then he might just have a chance.

The ghost wolf seemed to guess his intention, and it paused, not quite around the back of the tree, watching him with uncanny intelligence. Wario ignored it and shifted on the tree branch, staring down at the extended propeller arm, which suddenly seemed much further away than it actually was. If he was lucky, his landing would place him right beside the door, and he would be able to open it quickly and dive inside, hopefully before the wolf tore him to pieces. If he was unlucky, the force of the impact would damage the propeller, leaving the helicopter unable to fly or even move – and he admitted it, he wasn't light. But it was his one and only chance of getting down from this tree, and he could either take it and hope it worked... or he could stay up here on this branch like a coward, until Waluigi decided to come back and rescue him. And he really didn't want to be rescued by Waluigi, because that would make him look pathetic.

As the ghost wolf continued prowling around the base of the tree, Wario finally made his important move; he stood up fully on the tree branch and leapt straight off, aiming to land on the arm of the propeller that rested underneath the tree, and suddenly he realised how very narrow and flimsy-looking it was. He heard a distant, triumphant howl as the ghost wolf streaked forward to lunge at him with its teeth. Then he managed to grab the edge of the propeller with both hands as he fell right past it, and to his relief, it didn't snap under his weight; it bent a little, but it held.

He only had seconds, less than seconds, to complete his task. Releasing the propeller arm with one hand, he reached down as far as he could and grasped the handle of the door with his fingers. A moment of struggle, then he swung it open abruptly. He relinquished his hold on the propeller entirely, dropping heavily into the entrance and scrambling for the door handle again. He had less than a second of time remaining before those sharp-fanged jaws reached him, and he wasn't sure if he could pull the door shut behind him; it seemed so far away...

With a spine-chilling noise that was more shriek than howl, the ghost wolf pounced into sight, its terrifying head lunging towards the helicopter door, which was still open, unprotected...

With a painful-sounding crash, the wolf's skull collided with the window, causing it to reel backwards in shock. Wario slowly let out the breath he had been clutching onto, grinning slightly as the wolf snarled at him in fury. Being a ghost, it had not hurt itself by slamming headfirst into the window, but it was thoroughly annoyed that its prey had evaded it. Shaking itself angrily, it gave a last, bitter growl before turning and running away, its misty form disappearing into the black trees of Forever Forest.


	9. Chapter 9 - Inscrutable

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay... I was too lazy to write anything for a few days.**

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Chapter Nine: Inscrutable

Explaining the situation wasn't something that I could do very easily, considering that I was every bit as shocked as King Boo. Waluigi's appearance was completely unexpected, and I had not yet been given a chance to speak to him and find out exactly what had caused him to turn up in the mansion. I had a vague idea that he had been helping Wario in the forest, but some kind of ghost had attacked them and he had run away, leaving his older brother to fend for himself; at least, that was what I had heard him saying. Needless to say, the intimidating ghost King was not at all impressed, nor convinced, by Waluigi's obscure explanation of what had happened to Wario and himself out in the forest last night. That was probably the reason why my bizarre, purple-clad rival had been locked in the mansion's basement, which was being used as a temporary jail cell according to BooGie, who had filled me in on the details of the day's happenings.

He had seemed incredibly anxious, something that I found almost funny, because I had never seen any ghost act like it was frightened of anything. But all the ghosts feared Waluigi, even the King himself. There was just something about him that made them uneasy, loathe to even speak with him. That, at least, I could understand. My experiences with my cousin (for that was who he was) had been few and far between in the past, but that didn't make them any less unpleasant. Waluigi was well-known in the Mushroom Kingdom for being a terrible thief, as well as something of a bully, as I remembered vividly from the times he and Wario had tried to frighten me when we were very young. They attempted it whenever Mario was not there to stand up for me, and I had rapidly developed a deep fear and hatred of my two older cousins and their criminal ways.

But today, I refused to allow my fear of Waluigi to stop me from discovering the unknown truth about him. Although BooGie had not discussed him at great length, I knew that the ghosts wanted _me _to speak with him and take any information he could give me. He was the key to everything we were working on – Wario's stealing plot, Mario's disappearance – and we needed him, despite our mistrust of him. Waluigi was the one person I really wasn't comfortable around; even Wario had been nothing worse than an annoying troublemaker, always stealing your belongings when your back was turned. It was my other cousin who really caused the old fear and unease to rise up inside me like poison, and I doubted I would ever lose that feeling of deep, unavoidable mistrust when in his presence; a sense of danger and dread inspired by the long years of thieving and bullying when we were children.

It was obvious that, despite these reasons to be afraid of him, I was going to be forced to speak to Waluigi soon enough. The ghosts did not have the power to keep him locked up in the basement for very long – give him enough time and he'd be out of there in a flash, probably destroying half the mansion during his escape.

One thing I had noticed, and paid much attention to, was that the boos in the mansion worked as a single mind. Their behaviour was similar to a swarm of bees, who always knew what they were supposed to be doing at a particular time, never altering their work patterns to suit their own, separate wishes. There were no secrets kept among the white ghosts, who acted as though they could read each other's minds. If one boo was frightened, then the fear passed around until every other boo was affected by it. So fixed and unwavering was this pattern, I doubted anything could change the way the boos' minds worked, and this pattern could very well be their downfall in the end. This was what happened after Waluigi came to the mansion and was immediately locked in the basement by the King. The singular mind of the boo colony felt their King's unease and picked up on it, and before long nearly every ghost was affected by a deep, dark fear that they did not understand.

I couldn't have allowed it to continue safely for much longer, not when I saw how the ghosts' emotions had changed along with Waluigi's arrival. As I wandered up and down the hallways of the mansion, the tension in the air was as thick as smoke. The young Toad, Jak, followed me loyally as I continued to explore as I had done the rest of the day, but I could tell that he, like the ghosts, was nervous. Even so, I was reluctant to get the meeting with my cousin over and done with. I had not seen him in several months, and I had no idea how he would react to my attempts at conversation with him. Worse, I was expected to get information out of him somehow, a feat which I was sure would be impossible. Waluigi was famous for intelligence that surpassed his older brother's in every way. I remembered him well for his cunning and suspicion, and I had often wondered how Wario had never seemed to notice it before. No matter how much I thought about it, I knew I would never have the ability to get any information out of my cousin regarding Mario's mysterious disappearance. And yet, King Boo still expected me to speak with my imprisoned cousin before nightfall, which was the time Waluigi was most likely to try and make his escape. There was nothing I could do but obey the fearsome King's command, and I knew that, no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to force Waluigi to tell me anything he was not already willing to tell me.

It was with a feeling of resignation that I finally left my two companions and walked downstairs towards the basement. Jak offered to accompany me, but I was kind enough to decline the offer; I knew he hated Waluigi as much as I did. BooGie didn't even ask to come with me, but simply gave me a small wave and a concerned expression as I began my slow wander down into the depths of the mansion. It was dark in the basement, but I had experienced worse darkness, and it barely worried me anymore, although I did wish I still had my flashlight with me so that I could walk without tripping over things I couldn't see. I had a second problem: nobody had specified exactly _where _Waluigi was. After fifteen minutes of stumbling around, tripping over small mountains of dust, I eventually heard something coming from a corner of the room. It sounded like a quiet chuckle.

'Who's there?' I asked stupidly. Of course, there was only one other person in the basement, so who else was it going to be? I shook my head and quickly, but carefully, made my way across the room until I found the corner my cousin was occupying. He stood underneath a dusty old portrait of an old-looking ghost, arms folded and watching me with what I could only guess was an expression of amusement. I felt more annoyed than I should have done, but when I looked straight into his eyes, the annoyance faded and was replaced by the old fear I had so often associated with the appearance of my cousin.

I hadn't seen him in months, but he looked exactly as he'd always done. Dressed entirely in purple and black, he towered a good two feet or so over my head. It seemed impossible that anyone could be so tall, and I found myself wondering if he had actually grown _taller _in the past year. I certainly didn't remember him being so intimidating, but that was probably just because we were in a dark basement and it was difficult to see him at all. The brim of his cap was pulled down low over his eyes, casting them into deep shadow and making it impossible to see what he might have been thinking. His moustache was a different shape from mine; jet-black and pointed upwards at the tips in the shape of his emblem, which was also shown on the front of his cap and scribbled on the backs of his gloves. I let out my breath slowly and calmly, refusing to show any nervousness in the presence of my cousin, even though I wished I had never come down here to speak with him in the first place.

'You have some explaining to do,' I said, not looking directly at him for fear of losing my courage entirely; I settled for staring at a wooden floorboard instead. If he noticed this, he never mentioned it, but let out another brief chuckle that literally set me quaking in my boots. I did my best to ignore him, still gazing at the floor and awaiting his answer to my statement. His laughing ceased after a few moments, and I felt his concealed eyes on me as he looked down and replied:

'What do you want to know?'

I jumped slightly before returning my gaze to him, surprised that he had not argued or given me a sardonic response. But there was nothing at all sarcastic in his voice, just a bored resignation and a faint note of curiosity that made me wonder if he was truly as evil as I remembered him. I remembered him as a thief and a bully, always ganging up on me and Mario and challenging us to battles, sabotaging our plans and plotting revenge whenever we foiled his attempts. But this was a side of Waluigi I had never seen nor heard before; not angry or unpleasant but vaguely, detachedly amused. I drew in another shuddering breath of the musty air, preparing myself to think up a response.

'Many things.' Two words was the best I could come up with, but I knew Waluigi preferred people to be direct when speaking to him.

'I think I can guess what you want from me.' Again, his tone was not annoyed or even suspicious, but simply curious, as though he could not quite understand what I was talking to him for.

'D-do you?'

'I know about Mario's disappearance, but only because my idiot brother told me about it. You don't have a chance of finding him. You don't have a clue where he is.'

My anger spiked. 'Does Wario have something to do with Mario going missing? I thought -'

'You have no idea,' my cousin replied, grinning visibly under the shadow of his cap. 'My brother might have known about it, but that doesn't mean he was the one who organised it. Mario wasn't kidnapped by Wario; he just wandered into the mansion and never came back again.'

'Liar,' I hissed, annoyance turning into real anger at Waluigi's smug tone as he told me these things that could not be true. 'I've spent all day searching the mansion, and I couldn't find Mario anywhere. Not even the g-ghosts have seen him...'

'Well, obviously he's been well-hidden by whoever took him.'

'Wh-what?' I yelped. 'You said that he hadn't been kidnapped! Are you trying to confuse me or something?'

Waluigi sniggered.

'I'm warning you...' I hissed, although I knew I could not have beaten him in any kind of fight. My powers were pathetic compared to his, and both of us knew it. Not only that, but my attempt to intimidate him didn't have the effect I had hoped for; instead, he just sniggered again, mockingly, reverting to the Waluigi I knew, the one who had terrified me for nearly all my life, and I backed away a few steps. 'J-just tell me where Mario is!' I cried, almost pleading with him now, but he shook his head and sneered.

'I said he hadn't been kidnapped by _Wario. _That doesn't mean he hasn't been taken by somebody else. He has enough enemies to form an army, remember, and there's a good chance that one of the ghosts in this house has something to do with his... disappearance.'

By that point I had backed so far away from him that I could barely see him through the darkness anymore, but I could still hear his voice, and the words he spoke made me tremble in fear as I realised that I might never find Mario again. Waluigi grinned at me, then pushed up the brim of his cap a little, so I could see his eyes for the first time. 'In fact, your brother might be somewhere in this mansion, and you've never noticed. He might be in this _room, _he might be standing right behind you, and you don't have any idea he's there. You're not observant enough, little cousin. Mario will never be rescued by someone as pathetic and cowardly as _you.'_

Fury replaced the fear, but this time I managed to control it – and I was lucky I did, for Waluigi was eyeing me in wordless warning. I opened my mouth, but it was several more seconds before I worked up the courage to speak. 'I _will _find Mario,' I said, making the words into a vow. 'I'll find him before Halloween.'

'Probably a good idea,' my older cousin snickered. 'Everyone knows that Halloween is the time when all the real ghosts appear... not those stupid boos that float around this mansion all day, but the _proper _ghosts. The dangerous ones. So if you plan on rescuing your brother, you should do it quickly, Luigi... you don't have much time left.'

I swallowed nervously and forced myself to look directly into my cousin's eyes, wishing I was taller so I didn't have to crane my neck upwards to be able to see his face. 'Don't worry about that,' I said with as much conviction as I could muster, glaring at him the whole while, 'I'll find Mario, and I'll bring him home safely. No matter what you think will happen, I will never give up looking for him.'

I turned on my heel, intending to storm out of the basement and leave Waluigi there alone again, but my foot caught on something and I fell headfirst into the floor with a dull thump. I heard a low laugh coming from right above me, and my cousin's shoe nudged my side. 'Good luck with that,' he said quietly, more quietly than I had expected, as he leaned over me and spoke directly into my ear. 'And I hope you succeed, because it'll get pretty boring here without your stupid brother hanging around.'

I heard no more after that, not even the sound of Waluigi's footsteps as he strode away and vanished into the pitch darkness. And when I finally decided to stand up, he was nowhere to be seen; it was as though he had simply melted into the floor, leaving me to ponder the mysterious, cryptic clues he had given me.


	10. Chapter 10 - Waning Crescent

**Author's Note: This is the longest chapter so far - it was over 4500 words!**

**Also, each tenth chapter will be named after one of the moon phases:**

**Chapter 10 - Waning Crescent**

**Chapter 20 - New Moon**

**Chapter 30 - Waxing Crescent**

**Chapter 40 - Full Moon**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 10: Waning Crescent

When night came around, I had begun to feel deeply uneasy. I sensed the same emotion in both Jak and BooGie, who had immediately rushed up to me after I returned from my meeting with Waluigi in the basement. Judging by their expressions, I guessed that they had been expecting me to never come back. That was the kind of effect my cousin had on other people, and it was blindingly obvious right now. I reassured my two new friends as best as I could, even to the point of reminding them that Waluigi probably wouldn't dare do any harm while he was trapped in a mansion full of hateful ghosts. But they remained convinced that his intentions were entirely bad and nothing I said made any difference to their opinions.

However, I couldn't deny that my older cousin had something up his sleeve. The bizarre clues he had given me had proved that he knew a considerable amount about the strange plot going on around us. I supposed that a lifetime of being Wario's assistant allowed him to pick up information that nobody else knew. Tomorrow morning I intended to return to the basement and continue talking with him, trying to make sense of what he had told me before, and hoping that he could help me in my search for Mario. Even if he didn't want to help me, I would make sure he did; he was my only hope and my greatest enemy – aside from Wario himself.

I fell asleep that night after several hours of lying awake, thinking harder than I ever had tried to before. I could hear Jak's snoring in the bedroom next-door to mine, loud and rough as though he had a bad cold, and the faint sounds of music echoing up from the foyer downstairs. Last night I had puzzled over the music for a long time, trying to figure out what on earth the ghosts were doing; it sounded like they were having some kind of party. But surely there was nothing to celebrate when they were constantly threatened and their mansion was under siege? Not to mention the fact that they were holding a possibly dangerous _criminal _prisoner in their basement, who was probably plotting revenge at that very moment...

My thoughts kept me awake until well past midnight, but I never remembered exactly what time I fell asleep, still full of ideas and possibilities that I couldn't ignore any longer. I felt as though I had slept for only a few minutes when the bright rays of dawn woke me up the next morning, but I awoke with a single idea fresh in my mind. I had another companion – I wouldn't have called him a friend, but he was helpful to me. It was about time I visited him again and asked him if he had any new information for me.

I fell out of bed in much the same manner I had yesterday (I still wasn't accustomed to the thing's height) and retrieved my cap from its safe haven underneath my pillow before moving over to the window. The sky was grey and overcast, and there was a large patch of black cloud far off to the south, which was rapidly heading this way. It was nowhere near as sunny or cheerful as it had been yesterday, and I sighed lightly in anticipation of a massive rainstorm sometime later today. I had been hoping to leave the mansion this morning to refill my supplies, but it looked like that would be impossible now. Instead, I opened my bedroom door and slowly made my way down the curved staircase, stumbling and gripping the banister the whole way, letting out a vast yawn as I reached the bottom.

The foyer was deserted as usual; it was very rare to see any ghosts hovering around the mansion in the middle of the day, apart from the occasional curious boo. But today there wasn't a single soul in sight, living or unliving, and I was undisturbed as I carefully unlatched the front door and walked out into the dimly-lit courtyard outside.

There was already a light rainfall pattering against the ground, which was coated in a thick leafy mulch, splattered with mud and filthy water. Apart from a pair of fir trees growing on either side of the mansion, flanking the front door with their impressive stature, there were no living plants anywhere to be seen. The blackness of Forever Forest was all dead; the trees were spiky and spindly, like long fingers with clawed nails, reaching out to grab you as you walked between them. But worse than the dark trees was the knowledge that, somewhere out there in the forest, Wario was planning his thievery on the mansion. The ghosts wouldn't be able to hide their beloved, long-defended treasure. Not with Wario around.

I sighed again and pulled down the brim of my cap so the rainwater wouldn't drip into my eyes as it had been doing before; the storm was approaching more quickly than I had originally thought and it wouldn't be much longer before the entire forest was gripped in the clutches of a powerful weather explosion. If I had intended to stay outside for any length of time, I probably would have gotten drenched – but as it was, I had only come out here for one reason, and hopefully I would succeed in it. Hurrying across the rain-soaked courtyard, I realised that the rain was growing heavier with every passing second. Ducking underneath one of the fir trees to shelter from the downpour, I desperately glanced from side to side in an effort to see the person – or ghost – I was searching for. Luckily, it didn't take long for me to catch a glimpse of a pure white, faintly glowing shape around twenty feet away, hovering close to the wet ground, seemingly examining the roots of one of the dead, blackened trees.

'GameBoo Advance!' I called, hoping my voice was audible over the sound of the rain hitting the ground and pattering off the roof of the mansion. A stray drop rolled down the brim of my cap and dripped onto my nose with a small splash. The rain was growing heavier by the minute, and I also hadn't failed to notice the increasing vigour of the wind that was now howling coldly through the forest.

The old boo jumped slightly at the sound of my shout, as though he hadn't expected me to have come looking for him. For a second, all I saw in his black eyes was suspicion, but then he recognised me and grinned in his usual manner. It wasn't a cheerful grin like BooGie's; there was something dark and sinister about it, though I told myself repeatedly that it didn't necessarily mean anything, and that it was probably just because he was a very creepy ghost at the best of times. But I didn't believe there was anything especially malevolent about him, even while I was peering through my normal fear of ghosts.

'Well, well,' he chuckled, swooping forwards so suddenly that I leapt back in fright, stumbling hard against the mansion wall. He stopped a few inches from my face, staring at me with an expression somewhere between amusement and renewed suspicion in his dark eyes. 'Long time no see, kid. Actually, it was only yesterday, wasn't it? Sorry, my memory's a little patchy these days.' He bared his canines in a wide grin, tilting his body to the side in mid-air, a gesture of polite curiosity as I had come to recognise it. 'So, let's get to the point; what brings you out here on this less-than-pleasant morning?'

His amused tone of voice, at odds with his chilling laugh and fearsome appearance, seemed to restore some measure of calm inside me, allowing me to reply without stammering as I usually did. 'I wanted to ask you something important.'

'If it's that important you would have asked me already. So fire away, before I get impatient and leave.' GameBoo Advance's grin stretched wider, as though anticipating my next words with interest, while his circular body remained listed to one side. I cleared my throat and continued on with my planned speech.

'Well... y-you promised that you would tell me if you had any – any predictions about where Mario might be,' I said weakly after a bit of struggle getting the words out properly. I _was _standing face-to-face with a particularly scary boo, after all, and his extra-long canines were only a few inches away from the tip of my nose.

GameBoo Advance's body straightened out in the air as he seemed to consider my statement for a few moments, his vast grin gradually fading into an expression of controlled curiosity. When he eventually turned back to look at me directly, I noticed with trepidation that his eyes had turned serious, more serious than I had ever seen them, and the way he stared at me was frightening. 'I know we made a deal yesterday,' he said slowly. 'And I don't break my promises, kid. I'll tell you as soon as I have another prediction about your brother, understand? But you have to be patient and wait a few days. To be blunt, I've been having predictions less and less recently; I don't know why that is.'

His careful, slow explanation was scary enough by itself, but I was more worried by the deadly-serious tone of voice he spoke in, as though he was trying to tell me something incredibly important that I wouldn't understand. Hope had driven me to seek him out again, but now that hope was rapidly shrinking as I realised that even GameBoo Advance might not be able to help me rescue my brother. He was still staring at me, however, so I forced myself to nod my head quickly in understanding, which seemed to make him relax a little. His stretched grin returned and he let out a small laugh that sent shivers up my spine, though he was unaware of my apprehension. 'I like you, kid,' he chuckled. 'You're probably the only mortal I've ever spoken to who doesn't run away screaming when they catch sight of me.' His laugh faded and, for a brief moment, his expression turned serious once more. 'But I have some other news for you.'

I stared at him when he remained silent, not quite knowing what he was trying to tell me, for he had said nothing else. 'D-did you have another prediction... about something different?'

'Coooorrect,' the old boo whistled, drawing out the word into a sigh that sounded more like a wolf's howl than a noise made by a person. He shook his head in what I interpreted as a sorrowful, but cautious, gesture. 'Of Mario, I know nothing – at least not just yet. But there are other problems besides your brother going missing, and some of them require urgent attention.'

'I d-don't understand,' I said, trembling slightly at the ghost's solemn tone of voice and trying my best to avoid meeting his dark-eyed glare. 'Is it about Wario?'

'Noooo,' hissed GameBoo Advance, sighing again and making it sound like a low howl. 'It's about that strange human who is currently being imprisoned in the mansion's basement. The younger of your two cousins.'

'W-Waluigi?'

'Again, correct. It is my duty to warn you that he cannot be trusted; he is a thief and a traitor and he is planning something sinister behind your back. Not just your back, but the King's as well. He is a master of disguise and dishonesty, and he will be our downfall – yours, mine, the King's, and all the lesser ghosts. Talk to him if you have to, but whatever you do, don't let him drag you into a false sense of security.'

After the boo's speech, there was complete silence apart from the steady dripping of the rain on the ground and the faint whistling of the wind through the tree branches. I absorbed the flow of information, wondering if it was really true, and that Waluigi was actually plotting against us from within the mansion. I hated my cousin so much that it sounded believable, but the important question remained: could I trust GameBoo Advance enough to accept his predictions as being genuine? Or was he attempting to deceive me and turn me against my own family, putting me and my cousin on opposite sides?

'Thank you,' I replied after what felt like several minutes of agonising contemplation. 'I'll remember everything you told me. And I'll be careful around Waluigi from now on.'

'Good idea, kid,' the old ghost answered with a playful return of his wide grin, his body listing lazily to one side. 'In fact, best idea you've ever had, I reckon. Now make sure you don't let that traitor catch you unaware – you might not live long enough to come back and whine at me.'

_'Thanks,'_ I muttered in mild irritation, hearing his wild laughter behind me as I turned away, pushing the front door open with some effort and letting myself back into the warm, welcoming dryness of the mansion.

* * *

Dark. Everything was dark. Dust coated the wooden floorboards under his feet, forming a grey layer thicker than most carpets. The smell was musty, clogged with filth and stale air, as though the oxygen in the room was running low. There were no windows to open and the single door was firmly locked; although he could have broken through it if he needed to, he had no desire to attract unwanted attention from those annoying ghosts. He had no knowledge of how to break a door down without making any noise; besides, he guessed that staying here longer would allow him to gather information.

No, not for his brother. Not for that clumsy idiot who could barely pilot his own helicopter without someone else standing behind him, reading the instruction manual. Weeks, months, endless _years _of planning and plotting had all come down to this moment, and where was he? Trapped in a dusty, pitch-dark basement, with no-one to talk to besides his cowardly younger cousin, kept in his prison by a door he could easily break down if he wanted to. Pathetic, really. It was pathetic of those ghosts to believe that mere wood and metal had the power to keep him locked in a room, unable to escape. If he really needed to, he could have escaped as effortlessly as walking out of the door of his own home. It wasn't locks or chains keeping him tied here, it was the knowledge that he was standing in the same house as the enemy he had longed to hunt down for nearly all his life. Best of all, his enemy didn't seem to be aware of the threat Waluigi posed. Not yet, at least – and that was all he needed.

On the night of Halloween, he would wait until his witless brother invaded the mansion to steal the ghosts' precious treasure, causing every kind of chaos under the sun. He would use the distraction to his advantage, seizing the opportunity to escape his prison and gain entry to the rest of the house. Then, and only then, would he put forth the plan he had worked upon, tirelessly, for countless long years; his revenge.

Oh, yes. Vengeance was sweet.

And it would only be a few more days until he could finally put his long-awaited idea into action at last.

The basement rang with laughter, calm and controlled, echoing off the walls and filling the small, dark space – but nobody noticed. Not even Luigi when he returned to the mansion, his footsteps reverberating on the floor above, which was, in actual fact, the ceiling his cousin was trapped under as he laughed, howled; the noise shaking dust from the floor and making the house feel only slightly more sinister.

* * *

I had only barely stepped over the threshold of my bedroom when I heard the noise, loud and clear above the mansion's roof.

It was a deep rumble, like the growl of a dog, except more threatening than any sound any animal could bring forth. It was so low in pitch it was almost inaudible, but I could still _feel _it as it – its power shook my entire room from floor to ceiling, rattling the furniture and blowing dust off the wooden surfaces. As the rumble heightened in pitch and increased in strength, the dull greyish-white pillow fell off the bed with a thump and rolled across the floorboards until it hit the wall the opposite side. I felt myself slipping as I lost my balance, and I lunged out with one hand and managed to grab hold of the edge of the bookshelf, arresting my fall. However, my grip also pulled the shelf down, causing it to smack into the floor and all the books to scatter. I staggered across the small bedroom, grabbing onto any objects I saw to keep myself from toppling over.

The noise from the sky had been a thunder roll – the most powerful one I had ever heard in my life. It sounded like the storm I had spotted heading towards us was approaching more rapidly than I had imagined, and now it was directly over my head. I feared a lightning bolt would strike the roof and blow the mansion apart at any second; perhaps it would be safer to retreat back down to the foyer. I doubted that the ghosts were worried by a simple thunderstorm, but I had a strong feeling that it was going to be much worse than I had thought this morning. And it was only going to get worse, not better, in the next few minutes.

Time was everything right now. I flung open my bedroom door and skidded into the corridor beyond, swaying as I tried to keep my balance; the floor was literally heaving. Immediately I was confronted by the wide, scared, black eyes of Jak the Toad, who was clinging onto me, both arms wrapped around my ankle, in an attempt to stay on his feet. I attempted to comfort him, my hand resting lightly on his head, a gesture that normally helped him to calm down, but he was having none of it. 'L-L-Luigi!' he stammered, his eyes wide with terror. 'What's g-going on? Is i-it an earthquake?!'

'Shhhh!' I whispered, and he quieted down at once, realising that the situation was serious. 'It's just a thunderstorm, but it's a very big one. We have to find BooGie; he'll know what to do.'

Jak just nodded, seeming too frightened to speak rationally, and continued to grip onto my leg. I carefully began the journey down to the foyer, knowing that the spiral staircase was a potential death-trap for two people who couldn't even walk straight. It took nearly five minutes and was a terrifying experience, but by clinging to the banister and moving one small step at a time, I managed to reach the floor at the bottom, though I was almost carrying Jak in my arms at that point. The young Toad was so short that he couldn't get a good grip on the banister, and was being thrown from one side of the staircase to the other until I grabbed him and lifted him off the ground, protecting him from the earthquake-like qualities of the thunderstorm. As we reached the foyer, I heard a dull thud somewhere _beneath_ my feet, and jumped in shock before realising what it had to be.

'Waluigi's still in the basement,' I whispered, feeling Jak stiffen slightly in response to my cousin's name. He climbed up onto my shoulder and stood there, swaying a little, clinging onto my cap to keep his balance.

'You... aren't thinking about going _down _there, are you?' he murmured.

I considered this question, and it brought up memories of my encounter with GameBoo Advance less than half an hour ago; he had warned me profusely to avoid Waluigi at all costs, and to be wary of anything he might say. He told me that my cousin could not be trusted, that he was a criminal and a traitor. And yet I wasn't sure whether I really _hated _him nor not. Sure, I didn't like him and I never had before, but did I actually hate him enough to leave him in possible danger? Was he able to protect himself from the thunderstorm while imprisoned in the basement?

'I have to check on him,' I whispered in reply.

Jak frowned in a mixture of anxiety and disapproval, but he said nothing more; he knew he could not change my mind. With the little Toad on my shoulder and the floor rolling beneath us, I staggered over to the old wooden door that led into a dark corridor and, eventually, into the even darker basement. I forced the door open while hanging onto the wall with my free hand, grateful that I didn't have to carry Jak anymore, although it was still very difficult to move properly with the earth heaving underfoot.

To my intense relief, the effects of the thunderstorm became less noticable once we had moved downstairs. Perhaps Waluigi hadn't even noticed the storm yet; maybe I was wasting my time coming down to make sure he was all right. He was older than me and could probably take care of himself, after all. And the rumbling and shaking was actually barely discernible down here in the basement -

I heard Jak's squeal of fright, high-pitched and screeching next to my ear. There was a sliding sound from above, a cloud of dust engulfing us both, and I realised that we were standing underneath a shelf of some kind. The trembling of the thunder had caused something on top of the shelf to fall down on us...

Something solid collided with me, even as I turned to jump out of the path of the unknown but possibly dangerous object. There was a small yelp and a thud as Jak toppled off his perch on my shoulder and fell to the ground, hard. From somewhere just behind me, there came a dull thump and an angry snarl, more human than animal, and I realised for the first time that we were not alone in the basement. I turned around to look, mouth dropping open involuntarily as I finally recognised the other person who had, without a doubt, saved us from being crushed under the falling obstacle.

'Why don't you try watching where you're going?' Waluigi grunted as he tossed the enormous leather-bound book aside, apparently without taking any notice of its probably massive weight. He dusted off his hands, despite the fact that he was wearing gloves, and turned to give me an icy glare from under the brim of his cap. 'Then you might notice more often when things try to fall on your head.' His grin – brief but not malevolent – flashed from underneath the shadow of his cap, and I didn't fail to see it. My mouth was still gaping wide open and the stale air seemed to have vanished altogether.

'Calm down,' I heard Jak hiss at me, beyond Waluigi's hearing, and I hastily shut my mouth and took in a gulp of air. When I looked directly at my cousin for the first time, I was once again intimidated by his height, and the dark emotion in his eyes that I couldn't quite interpret. I found myself wondering, yet again, whether the words spoken by GameBoo Advance had been true or not. Maybe the old ghost had got his prediction wrong somehow, or maybe the whole thing had been a nasty joke?

Right now, I couldn't bring myself to feel any real hatred towards Waluigi. And I didn't understand that at all. He was a thief, a bully, and there was a good chance he was a traitor as well. He had turned my life, and Mario's, into an endless battle full of anger and loathing that never seemed to simmer down. But at this moment, I actually felt something different towards him, something I hadn't ever expected. He had rescued both me and Jak from that falling book – which was very heavy and could have caused a lot of damage if it had been allowed to hit us. Waluigi had pushed me out of the way and caught the book before it struck the ground, and thanks to him I had escaped the possibility of having my skull cracked by a falling object.

I couldn't believe it; was I actually _grateful?_

Jak's finger prodding my arm brought me back to reality, and I remembered that my cousin was still in the same room as us, and was still glaring at me. I forced myself to look straight into his eyes instead of his feet like I usually did, and I was shocked by what I saw in them. It certainly wasn't the anger and hate I had expected, but something completely different that I never remembered seeing in his expression before. For most part, his emotions were unreadable, but I thought I saw a trace of concern in his eyes.

My assumption was proven true when he opened his mouth, hesitated slightly and growled, 'It didn't hit you, did it?'

I found my voice again, and replied a little hoarsely, 'N-no, we're fine.'

He nodded, reaching up a hand absently to pull the brim of his cap down again, casting his eyes once more into shadow. 'Good,' he said, a trace of a sneer entering his tone, 'because if anyone finishes you off, it'll be _me. _Not some dusty, one-hundred-year-old book. So watch out from now on, little cousin; you might not be so lucky next time.'

The ground and ceiling suddenly shook violently as the thunder rolled out overhead, filling the sky with its roaring voice, and the wind howled through the forest like a wild animal. As the basement trembled under the storm's strength, I heard Waluigi say, 'You'd better go back upstairs and make sure your ghostly _friends _aren't having any trouble.' And I heard the sneer very clearly this time, sharp as a sword, but I also thought I detected another emotion in his voice... something dark and bitter, like cold iron splattered with drops of icy rain.

And when I glanced around to see where my cousin had gone, there was nobody within sight. The darkness of the basement surrounded us like the jaws of a giant monster, and I saw no tall, purple-clad figure lurking within the blackness, and I heard no snide and bitter voice whispering out of nowhere, terrifying yet reassuring at the same time. There was nothing remaining except the roll of distant thunder and the piercing howl of the wind whipping around the walls of the haunted mansion.


	11. Chapter 11 - Lunar

**Author's Note: This is an important chapter, because it introduces the power that will serve as Luigi's 'weapon' in the rest of the story (no Poltergust 3000, because the ghosts aren't enemies).**

**Also, I have changed this story's main characters to Luigi and Waluigi (instead of Luigi and King Boo).**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 11: Lunar

The storm had stopped.

To me, it felt like the world had ended. The crashing thunder, lightning, and howling wind were followed by this eerie silence... it was like everything had stopped, ceased moving, and there was nothing left to see or hear. It had taken a full hour for the worst of the storm to subside, and another hour for the downpour of rain to run dry. Although it had all ended, there were still many things left to remind me that the bad weather had caused considerable damage; sweeping through the dead forest, overturning trees by the dozen, knocking nearly all the tiles off the eastern side of the mansion's roof. It was impossible to forget the immense power of the thunderstorm when I saw the amount of harm caused by its ice-cold fury.

My mind was still buzzing with innumerable questions after my strange encounter with Waluigi earlier in the day, and I didn't even understand the questions well enough to know the answers. My cousin had saved me – and undoubtedly Jak too, yet I knew he still harboured many bad feelings for me. It wasn't for no reason that he had tormented Mario and I throughout our lives, but my recent meeting with him had allowed me to see past my hatred, wondering whether he was truly an evil person or not. And I couldn't forget the look in his eyes when he glared at me – the darkness, bitterness, unreadable emotion that seemed almost like desperation. There was something about the way he spoke that made me think he might not hate me as much as I had assumed.

But I couldn't trust him. I would never be able to. Despite being related, we had never shown the slightest amount of affection towards each other, and I had grown up with both Waluigi and Wario nearby, thieving and bullying constantly. I had never understood what sparked the lifelong hatred between myself and the younger of my two cousins. I tried to ignore it; I fought it every day, always hoping that Waluigi would give up his endless rivalry with me, but my hopes were mostly in vain. The closest we ever came to being friends was during the Karting tournaments, in the rare moments when we had ridden together in the same kart. In those times I had come to trust Waluigi and respect him for his enormous racing skill, but those feelings were extinguished as soon as the tournament was over.

It had taken me several years to understand that my cousin didn't want anything to do with me, but I never found out what had started the hatred between us; it was dark, sinister, and beyond comprehension. The best I could do was ignore him and try to forget all the battles he had fought against me throughout our lives. And yet, despite the way he treated me and Mario, I still wished that we could act normally around each other, perhaps even be _friends, _but Waluigi's hatred made even the thinnest friendship impossible.

'... Luigi? Are you still there?' I heard Jak say from a long, long distance away.

'Wh-what?' I answered, too quickly, as I snapped out of my daydreaming and turned to face the enthusiastic young Toad, who was running across the corridor to greet me, his arms piled high with dusty parchment.

'I brought these,' he said breathlessly, staggering over to me and throwing the parchment at my feet; I bent to examine them, but they were all written in a language I didn't understand. I picked one of them up and lifted it to eye level, at which point I realised that they weren't written in a different language after all – the handwriting was simply so small and cramped that I could barely read the words. I frowned slightly at Jak over the top of the paper, but his expression hadn't changed from its normal cheerfulness.

'GameBoo Advance asked me to deliver them to you,' he explained, still panting a little from the effort of running with all that weight. 'He refused to tell me exactly what they were supposed to be for, but he mentioned... Wario.' I couldn't help but notice the he shuddered slightly on that last word, but I refrained from questioning him. I briefly wondered if he had ever actually met Wario, and had a real reason to be frightened of him. 'Anyway, make sure you read them, because apparently they're _urgent.'_

'Thanks, Jak,' I said gratefully, kneeling down so I could gather up the rest of the parchment in my arms; it looked like there were at least four sheets. Had GameBoo Advance written all of these himself, or was he sending them to me because they had important information on them, perhaps regarding my brother's continuing absence?

I quickly glanced out of the nearest window and saw the darkness of approaching night beginning to creep up against the outside of the mansion; in likelihood, I was imagining it, but I thought the nights were much longer than the days here. I turned back to Jak and asked him, 'Are you going to bed soon? It's getting late, and we'll probably have plenty of work to do tomorrow.'

The young Toad took my suggestion without complaining, and simply wished me good luck before retreating into his bedroom and gently shutting the door behind him, leaving me to stare after him in surprise. Why had he said that? Did he think I was going to be in any danger tonight? I didn't plan on doing anything besides reading these old papers... maybe he was suspicious that I would go and visit Waluigi again. I shook my head and, strolling absently back into my own room, sat on the edge of the off-white bedsheet and promptly buried my nose in the parchment.

There were three sheets, and one of them resembled a map of what looked like a large house or castle, while the others looked more like hastily scribbled messages. Lifting up the first one and tossing the others onto my pillow to read later, I began to work my way through the tiny black handwriting – which was far from easy, but I eventually managed to translate everything on the parchment. It was indeed a message, and although it had clearly been written in a great hurry, the script was still almost perfect – carved out in shiny black ink, the letters all sharp and spiky, reminding me of those dead trees outside the mansion.

_Luigi -_

_I have to be quick because I don't think I have much time. I have discovered some old papers, and __one of them is a map. A map of this mansion, in fact. I don't need to tell you where I found them, but I think they'll be useful to you. The map shows every room and corridor in this house, as well as the gardens and courtyard in the back and front._

_Now look closely at the top-left corner of the map. You'll notice that there's a big room up there shaped like a crescent moon. I've never seen that room before, nor have any of the other ghosts visited it. All the years we've lived here and we never found it until now._

_I've been doing some heavy research today and I discovered a lot of things that you might find interesting... very interesting indeed. Look at the other sheets of parchment, and you'll figure it out soon enough._

_If you need me for anything, I'll be in the Observatory._

_- GameBoo Advance_

_P.S. I also happen to know about your little... meeting with your cousin earlier, during that thunderstorm. I warned you to stay away from him, so don't come crying to me if anything bad happens because you've been talking to him. He can't be trusted._

I finished the message, but my eyes continued to stare at the last paragraph as though they were glued to it. There was something annoying about GameBoo Advance ordering me around and telling me what to do, but I didn't want to ignore his warnings in case they turned out to be real after all. I vividly remembered my small conversation with Waluigi a few hours ago, and various parts of it had become stuck in my mind: the sound of that heavy book landing in his hands, his sneering voice, the sinister, unreadable emotion I had seen clearly in his eyes as he glared at me from under the shadow of his cap.

GameBoo Advance's constant warnings, bordering on frantic, seemed almost disturbing in my thoughts. I had come up with several theories on why he mistrusted Waluigi so forcefully, so furiously, but I didn't have any evidence that they were true. I knew that Jak didn't like my cousin either, but his dislike was nowhere near as strong as the old ghost's. Perhaps Waluigi had been an enemy of GameBoo Advance's a long time ago, and now he was out for revenge. I decided not to worry about any of this yet, though. There was a good chance that I would find out the answer to all these questions eventually, but I didn't want to waste time wondering about them now.

Stretching out in a more comfortable position on the grimy bed, I grabbed the nearest sheet of parchment and quickly scanned it. It was handwritten, but the words were so small – even smaller than GameBoo Advance's – that it was almost impossible to read what they were supposed to say, even when I was so close that my nose was touching the parchment. Although it took me nearly half an hour, I eventually worked out the entire message, which I guessed had been torn out of some ancient book.

What I read was both exciting and terrifying, and the two feelings combined into a sort of thrill I had never experienced before.

The paper gave out a lot of information on a kind of magical 'power' I had not heard of until now. Something else that I took notice of was that way it repeatedly mentioned the Moon Phases, and the supposed magic they held. I learned that, for unknown reasons, the moon changes its phase more often in Forever Forest than it did anywhere else; in fact, it changed every few days. But that wasn't the only piece of information I discovered after squinting at the almost-indecipherable handwriting for a long time.

The Moon Powers. Ancient, strong and dangerous, potentially lethal when used by the wrong people, and highly magical. The more I learned about them, the more strange and sinister they appeared. I became deeply absorbed in the parchment, trying to read and understand everything, but I failed to comprehend even a small amount of information. But it was simply too much to take in at once.

The Moon Powers could be used by anyone, but their strength and effect varied depending on the current moon phase. They were most powerful during the Full Moon; least during the Waning Crescent. If they were used by someone with bad intentions, they often backfired and caused unspeakable destruction, to such an extent that they could reduce an entire town to blackened, smoking, lifeless ruins. And if they were used by someone who did not have the skill to control them properly, they often had unintended side-effects.

At first, the prospect of being able to use the Moon Powers was exciting and appealing, but after I had read everything about them, they seemed more menacing than my original thoughts of them had been. Much more.

The discovery of the Moon Powers opened up a hundred more questions inside my mind to accompany the old ones, and I couldn't honestly answer any of them. I had a wish to find out more about them, and at the same time, I didn't want to meddle with something that could very well be tremendously dangerous. I was torn between two desires, two hopes, two fears. I had two options left to me, and neither of them showed a clear path through the newfound darkness that I had stumbled upon.

I had learned much about these strange, supernatural powers. I knew that they had a wide variety of different effects which changed depending on the current moon phase, and that a skilled person could twist and shape the powers to do their bidding. For a moment, I imagined myself storming through Forever Forest without any fear of the darkness, following a trail of light that led straight towards my brother... I knew that finding other people was one of the stronger powers, among those that could only be used at the Full Moon. I stared at the pile of parchment lying on my pillow in front of me and tried to think properly about the situation.

So far, I hadn't had much luck with finding out what had happened to my missing brother. GameBoo Advance had given me vague hints, but even he didn't know for sure where Mario had gone. Waluigi had provided me with a few cryptic clues as well, despite the well-known fact that he hated me; he had _always _hated me as far as I knew. But even if nobody else knew where my brother was, I could find him easily... using the Moon Powers. Was that the reason GameBoo Advance had sent these old pages to me – to help me rescue my brother, in a way that might actually work?

It was a very long time before I had exhausted myself enough to sleep, the memory of the mysterious magic lurking at the edges of my dreams for the remainder of the night.


	12. Chapter 12 - Desertion

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay, again. Hmm... no reviews for last chapter... ah well. :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 12: Desertion

Waluigi was pacing up and down the basement in quick, agitated circles, his impatience obvious in every step he took, uncaring of the near-complete darkness that surrounded him. Although it was impossible to tell exactly what time of day it was, considering that there were no windows or doors in the underground room, he guessed it was the middle of the night. He only knew this because of the silence. No footsteps thudding up and down the floor upstairs (which was actually his ceiling), no music from those ignorant boos who wouldn't recognise danger if it jumped at them holding a long sword. Also, it was a little darker than it had been a couple of hours ago, which was another reason to believe that the current time was somewhere around midnight, maybe even later than that. He wasn't certain.

With a sigh, he forced himself to stop pacing and leaned against a bookshelf, the top of which was coated in a layer of dust as thick as a carpet. It was, in fact, the same shelf that had tried to 'attack' his cowardly cousin earlier that day. After that little incident, he had made sure that there were no books resting on the top of the shelf, in order to avoid a repeat of the previous event. On second thoughts, he realised that the entire structure was extremely flimsy and there was a fairly high chance that it would just fall over by itself anyway and crush whoever happened to be standing underneath it. Preferably not his younger cousin, Luigi.

Why did he care?

Waluigi's hatred towards his cousin had lasted for over a decade, and the flames of his fury had never been extinguished – until quite recently. Now they had simmered down to a mere basic dislike, and even that was gradually fading away; the question was, _why? _Had he suddenly realised that Luigi wasn't so annoying and stupid after all, or was it a simple case of Waluigi himself growing tired of his own anger?

He had seen the expression in his cousin's eyes when they had spoken to each other after the bookshelf incident earlier; they had been full of curiosity and – was it possible – pity? He hadn't understood the look in Luigi's large, sky-blue gaze at all. He knew that he had been glaring at his cousin with all the power of his old hatred, but Luigi hadn't seemed as frightened as he ought to have been, as though he had realised that Waluigi was not intending to harm him or do anything else to him. It had become a game, although a slightly morbid one, in which they had stared into each other's eyes and tried to guess their emotions. Just by that small action of looking hard and taking in what they saw.

It had been a strange experience and Waluigi's grey eyes met Luigi's blue ones. He had never taken the time to pay any real attention to his little cousin until then – he had always been focusing on himself before, and his plans. But today's events, unusual as they had been, had given him an entirely different opinion of Luigi, who no longer seemed the pathetic coward he was supposed to be, but someone as intelligent and powerful as Waluigi himself. He was _different. _Maybe only slightly, but he was different nonetheless.

And Waluigi didn't know what to think of it, except to feel vaguely satisfied that his cousin was showing _some_ trust in him. Because he needed Luigi's help to accomplish the task he had set himself long ago – to seek revenge against his one and only true enemy, the one who had tormented his life as much as he had tormented Luigi's. It would only be a few more days until he escaped from this dark prison and set forth to begin his work, while his idiot brother was busy distracting everyone else in the mansion with his ridiculous treasure-stealing attempt.

The whole plan seemed impossible, but he had a feeling that it would work. And even if it didn't... well, he would simply have to accept his fate as he had always done before, and wish that hope came to him before all was lost.

Of course, he was perfectly aware that the battle, for want of a better word, was likely to be as chaotic as a Mario Kart tournament. Wario was clever and cunning, but he lacked the raw intelligence that his younger brother possessed, and he was not patient enough to organise a proper thieving mission. Without Waluigi there to instruct him on what he should do next, he was almost certainly going to ruin the entire plan, if it could even be _called_ a plan. His intention was probably to break down the mansion's front door, charge straight in and grab all the money and jewels he saw along the way, before finally escaping in his trusty black helicopter... but there were so many flaws, so many things that could easily go wrong.

But anything that went wrong for Wario was an advantage for Waluigi, who would be waiting down here in the basement until the night of Halloween rolled around. And when his careless older brother rushed in and starting causing all kinds of commotion, then he would quietly break out of his prison and begin working on his own, undoubtedly more intelligent plans. He would work alone... unless he was able to gain his little cousin's trust completely before that night came, and then Luigi would join him. He was uneasy with the idea of entrusting his important plans to _anyone, _but he had to do what was logical, and it would be a good idea to have someone else's assistance while he was working.

He would wait patiently until the time came to break free and unleash his retribution upon the world that hated him.

* * *

It was the sound of someone's fist knocking at my bedroom door that finally woke me up, and I would have easily slept much longer otherwise. The sudden noise was so unexpected that I leapt onto the dusty floor and immediately scrabbled for a weapon – though I had no idea what I was hoping to find. The nearest small object was a tiny, square photograph in a gilded frame carved with intricate patterns, the picture barely discernible through the filthy, soot-blackened glass. Whoever was outside my door knocked again, impatiently this time, and I blinked nervously and hurried to the door to swing it open.

Instantly, I was faced with the terrifying visage of GameBoo Advance, whose foot-long canines were pointed, sharply glittering and silver, less than two inches away from the tip of my nose. His blood-red tongue was curled inside his mouth rather than hanging out past his teeth, and his black eyes seemed wider and fiercer than normal. The longer I stared at him, frozen stock-still with combined shock and horror, the more frightening he appeared to me. Neither of us moved.

Then the moment passed, and he slowly pushed his upper lip down, partly covering his long canines, but their knife-like sparkling points were still visible. As I watched with wide eyes, he backed away a few inches and let his tongue loll casually out of his jaws, reflecting the glow of his own body, shining with light rather than wetness. He tilted himself to the side in mid-air and grinned at me, though the gesture barely decreased the tense atmosphere that his sudden appearance had created.

'Sorry about that,' he said, sounding rather unapologetic in my ears. 'I had to come and talk to you about something. It's those papers I sent you last night... I assume the Toad boy gave them to you, right?' He mock-sneered, waiting for my answer. I couldn't help wondering whether all boos were this unpredictable or had such violent mood swings, but I didn't even have half the courage necessary to ask him.

'I read those papers,' I replied cautiously. 'They were talking about the Moon Powers, or something like that. Do you think -'

'Shhh!' he hissed back, urgently, his voice almost a whisper. I flinched at his abrupt change in expression, and he calmed down immediately upon noticing my reaction. 'Sorry,' he said for the second time in one minute, 'but you must remember than these are top-secret things, understand? If you let anyone else know about them...'

He trailed off ominously, but the unspoken threat was so obvious that he didn't need to say anything more. I nodded silently, more frightened of him than I ever remembered being before – he was acting very strangely this morning, and I wondered if it had something to do with Waluigi. 'I won't tell anyone else about it,' I answered, though I was wary of promising him anything, especially when it concerned the Moon Powers.

GameBoo Advance mimicked my nodding motion, then his jaws suddenly fell open wide in a grin that looked less jovial than any expression I had seen from him since he woke me up a few minutes ago. 'Good,' he said. 'But don't say 'Moon Powers -' he mouthed those words silently - 'or we'll be in even more trouble.' Again, his wordless but menacing threat hung coldly in the air, like a thick winter fog. I understood that disobeying this ghost would probably be the worst decision I would ever make in my entire life, judging by the forbidding half-glare he was giving me right now.

And that realisation made me even less inclined to remain on the same side as him. There was a kind of aura that surrounded him, a sense of danger than surpassed the ominous feeling I always got when in the presence of Waluigi or his cunning, treasure-obsessed brother Wario. I hated and feared it; it felt as though I was being controlled by an unseen force, vicious and vengeful, unforgiving and bent on horrible revenge. I desperately hoped that, when my time came to leave this haunted mansion – preferably with Mario walking beside me – I would never be in a situation where I had to speak to GameBoo Advance again. He was terribly intimidating, and his low hissing voice was like a sound dragged out of my nightmares.

A white, glowing hand waved itself impatiently in front of my face to get my attention, and I blinked and returned my gaze to the grinning boo. 'Now, Luigi, you have to listen now... this is very important,' he whispered, while glancing behind him to make sure there was nobody else nearby, but the corridor was empty apart from the two of us. I couldn't tell if his movement was serious or whether he was just being theatrical. I attempted to concentrate, but his quiet tone of voice was somehow more scary than usual, and I didn't like the way his dark eyes studied mine as though waiting for some fear-inspired reaction, like a heart attack, or hyperventilation.

'I can see you'd rather not talk to me,' he said with more patience than before, 'so I'll get to the point straight away. I've already warned you about your cousin, but you still wandered into the basement and spoke to him yesterday, did you not? I suppose you don't have much concern for your own safety.' He twisted his expression into that familiar grin-sneer that always left me confused over what his true emotions were, if he even had any. 'Maybe you're not quite as cowardly as I first thought you looked. _That _is a surprising discovery... for me.'

I probably should have been insulted, or at least vaguely indignant, by this particular comment, but I was still too frightened to say anything. GameBoo Advance sighed, an exasperated note to his voice, and continued speaking as though nothing had happened, his words coming out a little faster and more urgently than before.

'I trust that you read those papers thoroughly, because there could be disastrous consequences if you ever tried to experiment with the Moon Powers -' again, he mouthed those two words without making a single sound – 'without knowing _exactly _how they work and what you are capable of doing with them. You should know that they are most powerful during the night of the Full Moon, but that is the time when they are also most dangerous. I gave you those papers because they might be your only chance of finding your brother. But I want you to learn them properly, and practise with them carefully, before you make any attempt at rescuing Mario. I'm trusting you to handle these powers without endangering yourself _or _any of the ghosts in this place.'

I listened carefully and, when his misty voice finally halted, I nodded yet again. I tried to look convincing with the little gesture, but I was experiencing conflicting emotions. On one hand, I felt it would be right to trust GameBoo Advance, to tell him everything I knew, and to respect his opinions when he had them. On the other hand...

I felt as though I has some connection with my cruel cousin, who was still imprisoned in the mansion's basement. With Mario gone and Wario hiding goodness knows where in the dark forest, Waluigi was my only remaining relative. He had insulted, taunted and tormented me, but I was still more comfortable around him than GameBoo Advance. He felt _safer, _for reasons I couldn't even begin to comprehend; his aura was lighter, less malicious, and he seemed less vindictive than the mysterious old ghost.

I did not understand what Waluigi thought of me – if, indeed, he considered me even the smallest, most pathetic kind of relative. There was no chance that he considered me a friend, not in a million years; yet, I felt more inclination to give him my trust, rather than give it to GameBoo Advance and let him play with it. I had to decide quickly, and I did not want to think about the consequences if I deliberately disobeyed the strange ghost.

I took a deep breath, hoping that he hadn't noticed the variety of different expressions flickering through my eyes, and looked up at him as he floated just above me. 'You can rely on me,' I said at last, and prayed that he had not seen past my fake act.

This was my final, desperate, possibly failed attempt to find my missing brother and bring him safely home.

I would use the magic of the Moon Powers, entrust their secret to Waluigi, and hope that I could finally locate Mario, from wherever he was and whoever had taken him. As this thought shot through my mind, I came to a realisation that I wished had not been true, for my spirits sank at the prospect of it.

_I can't tell anyone except Waluigi about my plans, _I thought. _BooGie might be a good friend, but he's loyal to King Boo. If anyone noticed that he was helping me in some way, he would be forced to explain everything. And I can't tell Jak either, although it would be great to have him on my side; he's too easily frightened. If someone scary enough, like GameBoo Advance, started questioning him, he would surrender everything I entrusted to him._

That left only a single option, and it was neither a safe nor a very good choice, but it was the only one I had. I would not leave my brother alone any longer; my duty was to set out into the world and find him. And I was willing to do anything to accomplish that difficult goal.

Distance myself from all my new friends in the mansion, betray GameBoo Advance, and take to the dark side with my hate-filled cousin. For I needed his strength and power, at least until I had mastered the full use of the Moon Powers. And I was running out of time.

Somewhere far away, in an unknown and sinister place, the one person who was closest to me was awaiting my arrival.

_Wait a little longer, Mario. I'm coming for you._


	13. Chapter 13 - Solace

**Author's Note: This chapter alternates between Luigi's and Waluigi's POV.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 13: Solace

My bold decision to oppose the mysterious, unsettling GameBoo Advance rang in my mind for the remainder of the day, haunting me like a remembered nightmare. I could not help thinking about it constantly, and the more I considered my actions, the more stupid and reckless they seemed to me. My betrayal, and my subsequent choice to go over to the darker side with my strange cousin, no longer felt like the master plan it had been when I had been speaking to GameBoo Advance. Now, it felt ridiculous and dangerous – a half-forgotten idea that I hadn't thought out properly – something that would do me no good in locating my lost brother, Mario. In fact, my foolhardy decision had probably put me even further away from him than before; why hadn't I just listened to GameBoo Advance and stayed on his side? He had been my ally, and an invaluable one at that, with his ability to see future events long before they occurred, and I had thrown aside his offers of help and turned to the only other person I felt any trust towards: Waluigi.

I kept asking myself, mentally, if I had made the right choice, or whether I had done nothing but driven my brother further away. I would do anything to find him and bring him safely back home to the Mushroom Kingdom, and I was equally desperate to leave this dark and haunted mansion in the past. Despite the few friends I had made during my expedition, such as BooGie and Jak, I hated staying in this crumbly old house; it filled me with unease, and I was constantly on edge, wondering if something was about to leap out of the shadows and attack me. It was always the staircases that were the worst places to walk in at night, and I had never been able to find the courage necessary to traverse them after dark had fallen. The mansion was always pitch-black at night, due to the lack of candles and the mysterious cutting of the electricity supply a few days ago.

However, I was determined to put aside my terror for one night. I needed to explain to Waluigi exactly what was going on, about my plans for saving Mario, and the situation with GameBoo Advance. He deserved to know everything if I wanted him on my side, including my discovery of the Moon Powers, which – I hoped – would be the key to locating my missing brother at long last. But I couldn't do everything I had to do by myself; I needed someone to help my as I carried out my plan, even if it was someone as suspicious and hateful as my older cousin. Not to mention the fact that I was terrified of standing against GameBoo Advance alone. I vividly recalled the sight of his gleaming canines and his eyes like bottomless black holes, and that memory was enough to send a powerful shiver up my spine. Even when he was on my side, he had been almost too terrifying for me to look at – I didn't want to know him if he was my enemy.

Somehow, I felt more comfortable around my strange, purple-clad cousin than I did around the fortune-telling ghost, even though I had more than enough reasons to be afraid of him. I hadn't yet forgotten the way he had leapt in and saved me from that falling book down in the basement, shoving me out of the way and catching the heavy object himself as though it weighed absolutely nothing. If I was honest with myself, I knew I had never hated him to the same extent that he hated me and Mario. I had been cautious of him because I remembered the long years in which he had fought and stolen from me – he was a thief, a bully, and a cheater, but he was not really a dangerous enemy.

But recent events had changed my opinions on Waluigi and allowed me to view him in a different light, and I knew that his behaviour towards me had been altered significantly within the last two days. He no longer glared at me with that vicious, vindictive loathing that I remembered from years before. The Waluigi I used to know would never have saved me from a heavy book that seemed intent on dropping on me from the top of a high shelf; he would have stood somewhere nearby and laughed as he watched it happening. He wouldn't have even considered doing anything to prevent that book from landing on my head, let alone actually _saving _me from it. And ever since he had been captured by the boos and locked up in the basement of their mansion, his entire personality – or at least a part of it – had changed completely.

I found myself repeatedly wondering if it was all just another cruel joke, another low attempt to endanger me, as it had always been before. I had no memories of a Waluigi who was even remotely kind or comforting, and I had no knowledge of what it felt like to have a cousin who didn't hate the very sight of me. Waluigi had changed, and I had yet to find out whether it was a true change or simply more evidence of his hatred towards me and my brother.

I needed to discover these things for myself.

That night, the night after my decision to betray GameBoo Advance, I crept out of my dusty old bedroom and, trembling horribly, made my way onto the upstairs landing above the foyer. I had never wished for light more; just a tiny ray of sunshine would help, or the brighter beam of my flashlight, but there was nothing except cold darkness everywhere I turned. It was far too dark to get down the twisted staircase safely, so I hung onto the banister and moved down the steps one at a time, using my foot to feel where each step was before I proceeded downwards at a snail's pace. I could see nothing in front of me, not even the cloud of frozen vapour that was my breath, hanging around my nose like a white fog. Nothing existed but the neverending expanse of darkness, surrounding me, pressing in from all sides, and the frosty chill of the night that seeped under the doors and through the cracks in the windows, freezing my breath and numbing my hands through my thin gloves.

I had no clear memory of exactly _how _I managed to stumble across the foyer and reach the splintered door that led into the pitch-black basement, but somehow I made it. I never wanted to be in this kind of darkness again in my life. I thought that, during my first night in the mansion, I had got over my fear of the night, of the dark, and of ghosts. Obviously there was still some forgotten remnant of the terror left, and perhaps it would never disappear entirely, no matter how long I lived in this haunted house in the middle of Forever Forest.

My hand grasped the metal doorknob, and I stifled a gasp at the icy coldness of it. Pushing the door open as quickly and quietly as possible, I slipped through and into the narrow, musty corridor beyond, coughing a little on the dust which I should have been used to by now. I had hated this corridor from the moment I entered it during my first visit to Waluigi, the same day he had been captured and imprisoned by the ghosts. It was so narrow that, if I put my hands out to the sides, I could press them flat against the walls without needing to extend my arms fully. The ceiling was so low that I could feel the top of my cap brushing against the rough, mouldering wood above me, and I could easily touch the ceiling with my fingertips if I wanted to. It was a cramped, claustrophobic place, and definitely not a corridor I would choose to explore in the dead of night if I had another option; in fact, if there was any other route that led into the basement, I would have gladly taken it. Unfortunately, there was no other path, at least not that I had discovered yet. I really ought to have paid more attention to BooGie's explanations of the mansion's layout.

However, the one good thing about this particular corridor was that it ran in a completely straight line right to the end, where I would find a closed wooden door shutting off the basement from the rest of the house. Then it was a simple matter of forcing the door open, which tended to be quite tricky, due to the fact that it was almost welded to the frame by mould and dust. After that little difficulty I would gain access to the basement itself, where – hopefully – I would be able to locate my evasive cousin.

The darkness didn't give way as I hurried up the corridor, moving faster now that my destination was nearby – although it was impossible to see anything, I knew exactly how long the hallway was before it reached the door at the end. I lunged out with one hand, the other arm braced against the left-hand wall to keep my balance as I struggled for the doorknob; as I had been expecting, the door was firmly closed, and it would not be easy trying to force it open. It took at least thirty seconds to pull the heavy door away from the frame it seemed to have glued itself to, and I almost threw myself into the next room with eager anticipation. Of course, it was completely dark inside; there was no chance of the basement being any lighter than the upper floors of the mansion, and I was fully aware of that.

But, for a split second, I thought I saw a flash of dark purple somewhere in the corner of the room, before it vanished into the shadows once again. I wished that I still had my faithful old flashlight that I had brought with me to the mansion, but I had lost it on my very first night here, and it was probably broken beyond repair ever since I dropped it on the floor. I had no light on my side, but now I had successfully reached the place I wanted to go without being ambushed by ghosts or falling down the stairs, I suddenly felt much more confident.

Even if there was a high chance that my strange cousin was in the room with me, perhaps watching me even now.

* * *

Waluigi concealed himself well in the pitch darkness of his 'prison'. His dark purple clothing certainly allowed him to blend into the scenery – or lack of it – better than most people, but he was unable to remain silent for very long. He heard the basement door creaking and groaning as someone forced it to reluctantly swing open, and he heard the soft footsteps as that person wandered over the threshold. As soon as they came into the room he leapt out of sight and vanished into the shadows, but they must already know he was here; perhaps they had even come here specially to find him.

Whoever it was, it was obviously not a ghost of any kind, and he wasn't stupid enough to make that kind of mistake. Ghosts didn't need to open doors; they just passed right through them, and they also didn't make any noise when they moved, because they floated above the ground instead of walking on it. He doubted it was that young Toad he vaguely remembered seeing during his cousin's last visit. Toads were too far too cowardly to wander around a haunted mansion in the dead of night – and they were nowhere near heavy enough to make that much noise when they walked, even if their feet were bigger than a human's.

That left only one person it could possibly be and, now he came to think about it, it was his cousin who was most likely to come down here and visit him. Most of the pathetic cowardice Luigi had displayed in recent years had faded away since he arrived at the mansion, in a valiant attempt to rescue his stupid brother. It was strange to watch as the green-capped plumber's terror gradually disappeared, being replaced with something that Waluigi could only describe as a reckless, yet admirable kind of courage. He no longer trembled in fear at the mention of a ghost; he could actually look them in the eye and talk to them as if they were normal people. And... he acted in a similar way around Waluigi.

He had no explanation for Luigi's sudden ascent from cowardice to bravery, and he was perplexed when he noticed it, but he had not allowed his little cousin to see his emotions for what they really were. Underneath his cold exterior, however, his mind was buzzing with countless questions and unlikely answers. Throughout his entire life, Luigi had seemed frightened of him, cautious when he was nearby, and always tensed for battle when they confronted one another. Now, he appeared more confident... much more confident, as though everything that had made him fear Waluigi had simply evaporated without leaving a trace of that fear behind. He did not understand it, but had decided to think more about it another time, when he wasn't so busy working on his own plans; after all, there was a good reason he was still hanging around in this mansion when he could easily escape as soon as he wanted to.

The door creaked again, abruptly, and he jerked back into the shadows with a reflexive movement, suddenly fearful. He forced himself to stop panicking when he remembered that it was only Luigi, who – as pathetic as he might have once seemed – was now a completely different person. No longer a coward, no longer afraid of the dark, or of ghosts... or of Waluigi.

Maybe there was a reason to respect him after all.

* * *

I told myself again and again that my cousin was probably lurking around in the darkness somewhere, waiting for me to come into the room so he could jump out and scare the life out of me, but there was no truth in the words. I didn't really believe in my own warning, although I could hear a slight sound off to my right side that proved I wasn't alone in the basement. I didn't think Waluigi would resort to something as childish as trying to frighten me; during those countless occasions in my life where he had attacked me in some way, it had always been something worse than simply scaring me in the dark.

However, I couldn't pretend that I felt no fear at all. It was eerie, being in a dark, musty room with only my strange cousin for company – a cousin who might very well still hate me, no matter what I thought of him. I did not want him as my enemy, I wanted him to be an ally, maybe even a friend... but I doubted very much that he would allow that. He was separated from the rest of the world to such an extent that I wondered if he was even friendly with his own brother, Wario; somehow, I didn't think he was. He was just too bizarre and solitary to enjoy the companionship of another person, even if they were a relative like I was. He lived his life in the shadows, always hated or forgotten about by other people, and I found it unlikely that he had ever had even the most basic kind of friend; nor would he ever want to change the way he lived, to move out into the sunlight and enjoy it.

Yet, somehow, destiny had given me the task of convincing him to join me in my quest, and I had no choice but to talk to him and persuade him to do it. There was no guarantee that I would be successful, but what else could I do, except try my best to gain some kind of trust from him? I needed his power to help me find Mario, and even with the magical energy that was the Moon Powers on my side, I was still in desperate need of some assistance from another person, even if it was just to accompany me. I had not entirely overcome my fears of the dark and of many other things, and I knew that I wanted Waluigi's company more than anything else; the simple comfort of knowing that someone else is helping you can give you a massive burst of confidence. That was what I wanted most, even if my older cousin would never truly respect me or see me as a friend, or even a true relative.

Taking a deep breath, and immediately regretting it because of the amount of dust that was in the air, I carefully wandered forwards into the centre of the pitch-black room, stopping underneath a tall bookshelf. Then, remembering the book incident a couple of days ago, I hurriedly moved away a few feet and stood in a patch of grey dust that nearly covered my shoes completely. And, struggling not to choke on the stale air, I remained almost perfectly still and waited, more than a little nervous but trying not to let it show, in case my cousin was watching me from somewhere nearby. It was too dark for me to see anything, but Waluigi had a large number of unusual abilities, and there was a good chance that he could see in the dark better than I could.

Time flowed erratically when I was trapped in the dark; I found myself unable to tell whether only a few seconds had passed or a few minutes. In reality I spent less than half an hour standing there, waiting for my cousin to show himself at last, but I honestly had no idea how much time had gone by since I first stepped over the threshold of the doorway and entered the basement. Although the complete darkness blinded me to the world, my other senses grew sharper than ever; I could hear the tiny scuffling of a mouse or rat underneath the bookshelf, and I could hear the loud breathing of another person not too far away from me.

Finally, I heard quiet footsteps approaching the place where I stood, still motionless and unable to see anything. Soft, scraping, extremely cautious footsteps, as though the owner of those feet was advancing upon a sleeping piranha plant, trying their hardest not to wake it up. I felt that if I made a single sudden movement, they would leap back into the corner of the room without a second's hesitation – so I remained motionless and silent, the only noise being my careful, steady breathing as I tried not to inhale too much of the musty air.

Then the world exploded with blinding light; it was the beam of a flashlight trained directly onto me, and the sudden absence of darkness made it impossible to see anything for a few moments while my vision adjusted to it. I remained in a semi-crouch, shielding my eyes from the unexpected burst of swirling yellow. When I eventually forced myself to look up at the owner of the flashlight, I realised that I should have known who it was immediately. After all, most ghosts can't hold solid objects... but I was still shocked when I saw his narrowed, dark eyes glaring into mine with all the vicious intensity I was accustomed to.

Maybe I had been wrong about him after all.

* * *

From his towering height, he stared his younger cousin down with a killing glare, the beam of his powerful flashlight aimed straight at the fearful plumber, who gazed back up at him with eyes that were still narrowed a little from the intensity of the light ray. The seconds ticked by in utter, eerie silence as neither cousin dared to move an inch, and then, slowly, he turned his flashlight away slightly, pointing it at the floor on Luigi's right side. The latter gave an audible sigh of relief and straightened up without breaking eye contact with the much taller man. Now that the darkness had been chased away and the entire basement was illuminated brightly, they could see each other distinctly; it was exactly like Luigi's previous visits, in which they had stared each other down until one of them gave in and spoke.

Various, unreadable expressions passed over their faces too quickly for either of them to see what they were. Luigi looked more hopeful and desperate than his older cousin had ever seen him, and he gazed back with a kind of eagerness that didn't make any sense to Waluigi. He showed no fear in his presence, even though they had both fought and argued all their lives, and Luigi had at least a dozen good reasons to be afraid. And yet his eyes displayed no true fear, only a faint nervousness, as though he was mustering up the courage to ask his cousin something that might make him angry.

Waluigi, on the other hand, did not allow any of his own anxiety to be seen in his expression, which remained cold and controlled as it always was. However, there was a slight gleam in his eyes that Luigi didn't understand; it was the same dark emotion that he was used to seeing in the eyes of his older cousin, and it made him more hopeful that Waluigi would listen to him and, maybe, join him on his quest. Little did he know that, at the exact same time, rather similar thoughts were running through Waluigi's mind with the speed of an express train.

In the end, it was the younger cousin who broke the eerie silence that had created a solid barrier between them; his voice was quiet and nervous but audible, especially to someone with Waluigi's sharp hearing. 'Um... I wanted... to... ask you a favour. A-actually, I wanted to...'

'Spit it out.'

He flinched from his older cousin's harsh rebuke.

'Well, I... needed to talk to you about something important. It's about Mario. I'm still trying to find him but... I haven't had a lot of luck yet.'

'And you're coming to me for help?' Waluigi sneered, his tone taunting yet slightly curious at the same time. 'It should be obvious by now, after all these years of us knowing each other, that I'm not the most lucky person in the Mushroom Kingdom. Why don't you go off and cry at your Toad friend instead, I'm sure he can help you with your 'quest'.'

Luigi glanced away for a moment, turning his gaze to the mouldy floorboards at his feet, but when he looked back up at his cousin, his eyes were full of renewed determination and... was it possible... hope? 'I came to you because you're the only one who can help me find my brother,' he said, more loudly than before. 'I can't trust Jak, because he's too easily frightened, and all the ghosts are too loyal to King Boo... and... I've decided to turn against the ghost who was going to assist me in finding Mario.'

Waluigi's gaze sharpened as he locked eyes with his much shorter cousin, absorbing the sudden courage and resolve in his expression. He began to feel something like pride for Luigi's return to bravery, but he quickly disguised the emotion before it became visible in his eyes, and glared back at his cousin with as much contempt as he could manage. 'So you've learned to stand up to people, huh?'

Luigi didn't seem put off by the mocking edge to his voice, nor did his determination falter even slightly as he stared back at his older cousin with fiercely narrowed eyes, hands clenched into fists at his sides. 'If Mario can be brave, then so can I,' he replied without hesitation. 'And it's my job to find him and rescue him from wherever he might be. I have new powers now, Waluigi. Magical powers that I can use to defend myself so I don't have to cower behind other people anymore. You should be honoured that I want your help at all!'

Waluigi stared down at his cousin's fierce expression and hard eyes for nearly half a minute, before he suddenly erupted into wild, cackling laughter that rang around the basement with frightening volume. It was surprising that none of the ghosts came down to investigate, considering the amount of noise he was making, but that didn't stop him from laughing as loudly as he wanted to. 'You have magical powers? Ha! I bet you're just saying that to convince me to join you in rescuing your stupid brother!'

His manic laughter faded into silence fairly quickly once he noticed the complete lack of change in Luigi's expression; it was as ferociously determined as before, as though his older cousin's taunting didn't make him nervous in the slightest. 'You've never heard of the Moon Powers, have you?' he said simply.

Waluigi stiffened, all traces of amusement gone in an instant; he glared down viciously at his cousin, who didn't flinch from the anger in his eyes. 'The Moon Powers are just a myth,' he snarled. 'A half-forgotten legend that nobody cares about anymore!' He took a step forwards, towering over Luigi by at least two feet, trying to appear as intimidating as he could; if the green-clad plumber was frightened, his expression didn't show any of it. 'Do you actually believe they exist?'

'Yes! I learned about them last night, and I've even tried out some of the different magical spells I can use – they all work perfectly, even though I haven't practised very much! Don't pretend that you don't know about them, _cousin, _because I need your help with them and you're the only person I can ask! You should feel grateful that I'm bothering to speak to you after everything you've done to me and my brother!'

Waluigi was frozen stock-still with complete shock, so unused to hearing Luigi's voice filled with so much anger and frustration that he couldn't even think of a suitable response to give. He wanted to say something scathing like he usually did, and he wanted to intimidate his cousin and show him that _he _was the more powerful one. But at the same time, he was curious to find out exactly how strong Luigi had become by using these magical abilities, and what he was capable of doing now that he had them. And somewhere in the depths of his heart, hidden even from his own knowledge, he felt a slight touch of pride that Luigi was finally learning to stand up for himself.

And something in his mind was telling him not to waste this opportunity to prove himself in front of someone else, someone who actually showed some trust and respect towards him – the first person to have ever done that. His emotions were heavily mixed. On one hand, he wanted to join Luigi on his quest – wanted to with an almost frantic desperation. On the other hand, he would rather be left alone to continue working on his own, secret plans in the dark and calm of this basement until the time came to unleash them. He didn't know which path to choose, but in the end, it only took one glance at Luigi's determined expression to sway him.

Clenching his fists, and wondering if he was making the best choice or not, Waluigi reluctantly lowered his head; the brim of his cap cast his eyes into deep shadow and hid them from his cousin's view. 'Fine. I'll help... but only because I think I ought to know more about these so-called Moon Powers.'

It was a lie, and he knew perfectly well it was, even as he grinned slightly at Luigi's overjoyed reaction. There was only one reason he wanted to accompany his cousin on this stupid quest to rescue Mario, and it was far from the reason he had given. Years of being alone, forgotten, and hated by everyone he knew had finally worn him down, and he wanted the company of someone else – even if he couldn't tell Luigi that.

After all, even a villain needs some friends occasionally... and he knew, even while he sneered and taunted Luigi, that his younger cousin's offer might have been the best thing that could ever happen to him. More than the promise of excitement and adventure, was the possibility of having a family again.


	14. Chapter 14 - Loyalty

**Author's Note: Short chapter today. The story will probably get more exciting within the next few chapters; I also have some more new characters to introduce later.**

* * *

Chapter 14: Loyalty

The three-legged wooden chair I had chosen to sit was wobbling dangerously every time I moved so much as a half-inch; however, the seat was unusually high off the floor and made me look slightly taller than I normally did compared to my older cousin. Even with this limited height advantage, I was still forced to tilt my head backwards to be able to look straight into Waluigi's cold eyes as he sat on a shorter chair in front of me. Despite accepting my offer a few minutes ago, he remained as stubbornly emotionless as usual, his grey eyes showing not even a flicker of expression aside from the coolness, which I had noticed was normal for him. Had I not known him so well by now, I would probably be scared witless just from staring at him and having him stare back at me with equal intensity; as it was, I had gradually grown used to his strange behaviour and unreadable emotions.

We had made a silent, unspoken agreement to not discuss the Moon Powers any more than we already had. I hadn't failed to notice Waluigi's fury when I had last mentioned them, and the least I wanted right now was a repeat of that incident. Therefore, I had decided to avoid talking about my newfound magical powers unless it was completely necessary, and perhaps not even then.

My purple-clad cousin, now sitting directly opposite me and still towering high above my head, was as intimidating as always. With his cap pulled down low over his eyes, shielding them from my view, it was impossible to tell what he might have been thinking. He was sitting in the chair differently from me, too; while I was perched on the edge of my seat in a stiff and slightly nervous manner, Waluigi was leaning back with his legs folded and one foot tapping against the filthy floorboards. His white-gloved hands were resting on his lap, displaying the reversed 'L' symbol on the backs of both of them, like some kind of wordless threat.

Our conversation had stuttered to a halt less than a minute ago, when I had explained every tiny detail of my plans to Waluigi, including my suspicions about GameBoo Advance's loyalty and why I had abandoned him. I did not intend to say the old ghost's name, and I never actually did, but my cousin clearly had other ideas. I soon found out just how curious – and suspicious – he could be when he wanted to, much to my dismay.

'What was this ghost's name?' he growled without moving from his casual position in the dusty chair, his eyes still shadowed. 'You seem to always avoid answering questions I ask you about him. If you really expect me to help you rescue your idiot brother, you'd better be willing to tell me _everything _you know.' Although I couldn't see his face, it was obvious that he was glaring at me from the way his hands were suddenly clenched together, showing the anger that I couldn't hear in his calm voice.

I fidgeted slightly on the seat of my filthy, three-legged chair; why did he always find out the secrets I didn't want to tell him? Although I had promised myself that I would explain everything important to him, there were still some scraps of information that I would rather keep in my own mind, and GameBoo Advance's identity was one of them. I might not trust the old prediction ghost any longer, but for some reason, it just didn't seem like a good idea to tell my cousin what his real name was. In the end I gave in to his demand with a long sigh, but only because he would never leave me alone until he found out the truth.

'W-well... I suppose I was worried you might not like what you hear.'

He raised his head a few inches, and I jumped slightly in surprise when I realised he was actually grinning at me. It wasn't exactly what I would call a friendly grin, and it was probably intended to frighten me somehow, but it was a grin nevertheless, and it relieved me to know that he was actually capable of making such an expression. 'Do you think I'll be angry with you? If this ghost is someone I don't like, then I'll be angry with _him.'_

I still felt as though I was walking on thin ice when I glanced up at him, realising that he was unlikely to stop asking until I told him. Very softly, leaning forwards so he could hear me better, I whispered the ghost's name, and immediately drew back and looked down at the floor again afterwards. No matter how well I thought I knew him, there was still some remnant of the old fear left – the fear of my two cousins and what they had done to me and Mario throughout our lives. I trembled at the prospect of making him angry about something, and resolved to never annoy him if I could help it.

However, when he did not respond for nearly five minutes, I chanced a quick look up to see what he was doing, and was a little surprised – and relieved – by what I saw. He appeared to be in deep thought, but with his eyes shaded under the brim of his cap, it was difficult to guess his true emotions; obviously GameBoo Advance's name meant something important to him, or perhaps he was simply trying to remember if he had ever heard it before. I watched him for what felt like a very long time, at least from my perspective; when he eventually raised his head and looked me straight in the eye, I had forgotten to be afraid of him.

'Has he been saying anything... about _me? _Has he been telling you that I'm an evil cheater who shouldn't ever be trusted? Well?' His grey eyes narrowed viciously when I did not immediately reply. 'Go on, tell me!'

Now I really _was _frightened; he was glaring at me with a sharply gleaming gaze, most of his face still cast in shadow by his overhanging cap, his voice colder than I ever remembered hearing it before. Yet I managed to control the panicked urge to leap out of my chair and bolt towards the basement door, instead drawing in a short breath while I stared back at him in alarm, knowing perfectly well that he was showing the side of his personality that had always terrified me in past years.

'G-GameBoo Advance has spoken about you... quite frequently.' I forced the words out through my frozen throat, choking a little when I saw Waluigi's expression instantly darken like a cloud covering up the sun. 'He's warned me about talking to you many times before, a-and... after I spoke to you during that thunderstorm... he told me that I shouldn't visit you anymore because I was putting myself in great danger. He said that I can't trust you, and that you're a cheater and a villain and... many other things.'

He let out his breath slowly, as though trying to control his temper; when I looked back at him, I was relieved to see that he was no longer angry. If he was, he did not allow me to see any of it, for his eyes were expressionless as usual. While I waited for him to say something in response to my previous words – knowing from past experience that he probably wouldn't answer for some time – my gaze began to wander around the dark room.

Most of the pitch-blackness that normally dominated the basement, seeping under the doors and through cracks in broken windows, flooding the entire mansion with the dark of night, had been swallowed by the bright beam from Waluigi's flashlight. It was now lying on a small wooden table a few feet away, long since forgotten about but still faithfully illuminating the room with its yellow light. With nothing else to do until my cousin chose to continue speaking, I fixed my gaze on the flashlight instead of letting it drift around aimlessly. Immediately, I saw that the object was actually dark purple, rather than jet-black as I had assumed it was before this moment; it also had Waluigi's reversed 'L' symbol painted messily on one side of the handle. Did it belong to him, or had he somehow constructed it during his long days and nights spent down here in the basement?

It didn't take very long for me to grow bored of examining the black flashlight, and I cast my eyes around for something else to look at while I waited for our conversation to restart. A few seconds later, my gaze fell on my cousin's hands, which were interlaced loosely as they rested on his lap, showing his distinctive symbol on the backs of his gloves. Suddenly – and without my volition – I was fascinated by them.

Waluigi was evidently still thinking hard about something, but when I glanced up at him, he looked almost as though he was in the middle of having a flashback – and it didn't look like a pleasant one, either. I restrained my urge to question him and instead waited patiently for him to start talking to me again; a second later I realised that it might be a while before this happened, so I returned my gaze to where it had been resting a moment ago.

His gloved hands were far more interesting to examine than the motionless, lifeless flashlight I had been looking at before, and I discovered this fairly quickly. He had unusually long fingers, nearly twice as long as mine – I had never seen any human with fingers like that. I supposed that it made sense, considering he was also much taller than most other people, but it still transfixed me for a good while.

I also noticed within a short space of time that, as he was thinking, he was unconsciously scratching his right hand with his left; I followed his slight movement with interest, wondering exactly what he was thinking about now.

Then, all of a sudden, his eyes snapped back to meet mine with that familiar coldness in his glare again, causing me to involuntarily jump backwards without leaving the seat of my chair, which I was still sitting stiffly in. Then his dark expression changed a little, and he appeared less menacing and ominous, allowing me to meet his gaze without feeling that old fear rising to the front of my mind. 'If you plan on rescuing your brother,' he said slowly, 'you had better start working on it now, before GameBoo Advance stops you.'

My wide, frightened eyes showed him exactly what I was thinking then; there was nothing I could do to conceal the uneasiness I felt upon hearing his cold words. 'Wh-what do you m-mean? What's he g-going to do to stop me?'

Waluigi did not glare at me as I expected, but he leaned forwards slightly in his chair, as though trying to tell me something terribly urgent without speaking. 'Because,' he said, his tone more ominous than ever before, 'GameBoo Advance is not your friend nor your ally. He has been tricking you ever since you first met with him, using his prediction ability to see everything in your future. He hasn't been preparing you for what's coming up ahead; he's been anticipating your actions so he can find out the best way to stop your plans... dead in their tracks.'

I had no answer to this. His mood darkened instantly as though he expected me to deny everything he had said, and he stood up to his full height, towering almost four feet above me, his eyes glaring down at me like a vicious, black-clouded thunderstorm, more savage that the gaze of a hunting wolf. 'Don't pretend it's not true,' he snarled, taking a single long stride forwards so he was standing directly over me; I remained sitting down, and my fear was obvious no matter how much effort I put into disguising it. 'That ghost has never been on your side! He's the betrayer, not me, and I can tell you that better than anyone else can.'

I slowly stood up, shaking horribly out of pure terror, yet I was still determined not to let my older, more intimidating cousin push me around as though I was worthless and stupid. Unfortunately, standing up made little difference, for he was still at least two feet taller than I was even when I stood on my toes. 'I believe you,' I replied, for once not stammering at all. 'GameBoo Advance doesn't seem trustworthy to me, but why should you be any different?'

He stopped, glaring at me with the same hatred I remembered seeing in his eyes whenever he confronted me in the past; that fierce disgust and loathing was graven forever into my mind and memory. Yet I remained defiant and stood up to him, just as I had always wanted but had been too frightened to do, my own glare matching his.

'We've never been friends, even though we are cousins, so why should you want to help me now? What's changed between our families since we both ended up in this mansion? I still need your help no matter what, but first, give me a good reason why I ought to trust you at all.'

Our eyes locked, determined and furious, wide and narrowed, blue and grey.

Then – with a movement that filled me with an overwhelming mixture of bewilderment and stunned relief – Waluigi backed down, stepping away from me, so we were no longer standing almost toe-to-toe. He lowered his head briefly so I could not see his face, and for a brief, confusing moment, I thought he was ashamed of himself for losing his temper with me. But when he jerked back up seconds later to look at me directly, he seemed anything but repentant. I stared back, unable to comprehend what was going through his mind anymore, and barely even understanding my own thoughts.

'You don't know what GameBoo Advance has done before,' he said softly, his voice far quieter and more composed than I had been expecting, even though his expression was almost twisted with a mixture of unidentifiable emotions. 'I might not know exactly who's responsible for your brother's disappearance, but I can bet it was that ghost. He has more power than anyone else in this mansion, including us. He's a master at concealing his true intentions, and his ability to see the future is only one of the things he can do.'

While I waited silently for him to continue, he cleared his throat loudly and, when he next spoke, his tone was quieter and rougher than before – as though speaking was almost painful, but he was forcing the words out anyway. 'GameBoo Advance is at least a hundred years old, and his whole life has been full of lies and deception. He hasn't always lived here at the mansion, either – he's been all over the Mushroom World during his time, and the things he's done are all evil. And he somehow manages to keep convincing everyone that he's not part of the dark side, through all those decades, without anyone suspecting him at all...'

He hesitated for a few seconds, staring down at me as though trying to decide whether or not to tell me more on the subject. My eyes strayed downwards during this small, concerned pause and as I stared at his pale-gloved, long-fingered hands revealed, yet again, that he was unconsciously scratching his left one, closer to the wrist. I could not see anything beneath either his white, L-marked glove or his dark purple sleeve, and I wondered what was bothering him. If there was a reason for his strange action, he seemed to have not been aware of it.

He looked down at me from his enormous height, his eyes no longer blank and shadowed by his cap, but alive with regret, frustration and many other emotions I couldn't even begin to identify, let alone understand. At that same moment, everything bad he had ever done to me or Mario seemed to fade away into nothingness, becoming less and less important until I no longer cared about his supposed evil. For the first time, I allowed my mind to forget the crimes and thievery he had committed, even if it was just for a minute, and I at last saw him as my cousin and part of my family, instead of the villain he was meant to be. I swallowed thickly and, without breaking eye contact with him – even momentarily – nodded my head in acceptance.

However, I could not stop myself thinking one thing; was he trying to deceive me just like GameBoo Advance seemed to have done, or was he really on my side? I could not find a sensible answer to that question, because nothing made sense to me anymore – I was torn between two opposing forces, and either one of them could lead me closer to my brother, or push me away from him forever.


	15. Chapter 15 - Incandescent

**Author's Note: Here's the next chapter - t****hanks again to everyone who reviewed.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 15: Incandescent

It was my fifth night at the mansion. My fifth night of darkness pressing in from all sides, hearing voices without any visible owners, listening to Jak's incessant cheerful chatter – which did nothing to change the peculiar mood that had haunted me ever since I woke up this morning. My fifth night of avoiding conversations with unpleasant ghosts, ignoring the curious whispers that seemed to pursue me everywhere I went, creeping up staircases and into rooms which looked to be deserted at first glance, driving me within an inch from insanity. My fifth night of sleeping on the ragged, musty covers of a bed that was probably older than I was, keeping my beloved cap under my pillow every time I fell asleep to make absolutely sure that no-one would try to steal it while I had my eyes closed.

My fifth night of living in the same house as my mysterious, intimidating cousin, Waluigi, who hated me; who I saw as a friend, an enemy, a family member and my greatest rival. I had never spent more than a few hours under the same roof with him before, but I had been staying in the haunted mansion for nearly a full week now and, considering he had made no attempts on my life so far, I had begun to trust him somewhat. Not to the point where I could speak to him comfortably, or look him straight in the eyes without feeling a cold shudder run up my spine as I gazed into those black, emotionless depths... but I had a definite sixth sense when it came to guessing my cousin's most likely motives. And that sense was telling me, in some dusty and long-concealed corner of my bewildered mind, that Waluigi had nothing against me. At least not right now... but then again, who knew what his intentions were?

I vividly remembered his harsh, pleading tone of voice when he had been trying to convince me that GameBoo Advance was my enemy, a far greater danger than anyone else living in this mansion. He displayed little concern for me, but I could tell that there was more emotion behind his words than he usually allowed to show; perhaps GameBoo Advance was, in fact, one of Waluigi's worst enemies. However, when I managed to pluck up the necessary courage to ask him about this, he explained no further than, 'I'll tell you some other time.'

Did my older cousin have some kind of history with my former ally, GameBoo Advance? It seemed very possible, considering how touchy the subject seemed to be when I attempted to breach it, and how much emotion was evident in his voice when he spoke about it. Waluigi allowing his feelings to become obvious was something I had little to no experience in, and I knew that it was highly unusual for him. His personality had changed dramatically over the past few days, but was it really a change I could live with – that _he _could live with? No matter how comfortable I became around him, I couldn't erase my memories of the snide, taunting Waluigi who had almost haunted me throughout my life, looming over me like a deathly shadow and showing not a shred of kindness or mercy when I accidentally angered him.

And I still remembered the day I had met my cousin for the very first time, even though that memory was over two decades old, so old that it had grown blurry in my mind and I had difficulty picturing exactly what had happened. Not that it was something I _wished _to remember any more clearly than I already could; it was a horrible memory and had become my main excuse for being terrified of my cousins. If anyone asked why I trembled in my shoes whenever Wario or Waluigi happened to stand within ten feet of me, I simply replied, 'I'll tell you some other time.'

I had noticed that Waluigi used the exact same phase that I had always held up as a defensive shield when I was pressed with questions from concerned friends and family. _They _didn't have a clue what it felt like, having a pair of cousins who hated everything about you and took immense pleasure in making your life as complicated as possible. But Waluigi had said the very same thing to me when I had asked him why he seemed to be... almost frightened of GameBoo Advance. And he had immediately shot back at me with that strangely familiar phase, ripped straight from my own life and flung cruelly back at me.

I'll tell you some other time.

How ironic it was, that we were both hiding secrets which, apparently, seemed to affect us strongly; secrets that we refused to tell anyone else about, not even the people who were closest to us in the world. In that sense, Waluigi was no different from me, but all similarity between us ended there; he hated me, I feared him, and despite our long conversations in the pitch-black basement and our somewhat cautious alliance, we revealed nothing to each other. Nothing, at least, that really meant anything to us. I realised I was a fool to have believed that he trusted me, not when the evidence was in plain view, in the form of those six words that had changed both of our lives forever, and in more ways than one. Waluigi had never ceased to hate me; he was simply putting aside his loathing for a while so that I could help him... do what? I hadn't figured out his real reason for agreeing to join my quest in the first place, other than the fact that it would give him an opportunity to prove his superiority to me directly.

But I had memories of my own that I had kept disguised for many, many years, hidden beneath a cowardly and well-disposed exterior; secrets that I had always kept to myself, and probably would never reveal to anyone, not even my own brother.

And my recent conversation with Waluigi had suggested that he had similar memories from past years that haunted him, and that he was – quite possibly – not the evil and merciless villain I had originally believed him to be. Perhaps he was a different kind of person who could actually be a great friend to me if he made any effort, but Fate had made our personalities too complicated for that, and the cold truth wasn't going to change itself anytime soon. For now, I would just have to learn to cope with being around my older, taller, more threatening cousin, and learn not to be so afraid of his height and incredible power. And, most importantly, I would need to learn that he was not prepared to attack me no matter what happened, because – for reasons that I couldn't even begin to comprehend – he needed my help.

He needed me – me, the little cousin who he had always displayed eternal hatred towards, always picked on, always fought with. It was almost impossible to understand that the terrifying, all-powerful Waluigi genuinely wanted me for something that didn't involve bullying, stealing or declaring war. After all, I didn't have any reason to trust him, not after everything he had done to me over the years... which was why I felt such strong confusion now, why I had no idea whether I could depend upon him or not. If he wanted to stab me in the back while I wasn't looking, he could do so without the slightest effort, especially considering how much power and skill he wielded compared to me.

Compared to him, I was puny – and he was utterly and fully aware of that, so what could he possibly want from me? I needed him to help me find Mario, to help me overcome GameBoo Advance and control my new, untried abilities, the Moon Powers. But more than anything else, I knew I needed his company. In a ghost-filled mansion where just about everything I feared most was right around the nearest corner, I desperately wanted a friend there to watch my back when I couldn't. And even though Waluigi was actually one of those things I was afraid of, for some inexplicable reason, I wanted him at my side as searched for my lost brother. Without his help, I was nothing more than a spirit wandering in the pitch darkness without a sliver of sunlight to show me the correct path, and without a shred of hope or confidence to guide me on my long and complex quest.

I couldn't think of him as the evil villain.

Not any more.

* * *

King Boo adjusted his crown with another agitated sigh – his third in the last few minutes – and turned to face the much smaller ghost for drifted just in front of him. He found himself instinctively moving back in the air so that he wasn't quite so close to his subordinate, despite the rather obvious fact that GameBoo Advance could not have overpowered his King in any kind of physical struggle, due to his small size and slow, almost lazy movements that gave him an impression of being mostly powerless. However, upon closer inspection, it was clear that his longer-than-normal canine teeth and cunning smile made him appear slightly menacing, even to the giant King's usually calm eyes.

Floating so close to another ghost, even one as small as GameBoo Advance, wasn't too good for the nerves; when boos are too near each other, they are able to – with a certain amount of inaccuracy – sense each others' thoughts. And the King really wasn't enjoying the idea of his strange, fortune-telling servant knowing exactly what he was thinking, thank you very much. Even if GameBoo Advance was loyal to him and had always been so, he still didn't like it, and the prediction ghost knew that fact all too well. Luckily, he seemed too preoccupied to start bothering the King with being creepy tonight – and that, more than anything, was enough to calm the larger boo's nerves slightly. Not by much, but he was at least able to talk to his smaller servant without having to look at the floor underneath him, which was his normal method of dealing with GameBoo Advance's natural scariness.

'...Your report?' he asked tersely, knowing that there were very few reasons for this ghost to be seeking him out.

'You won't like it...'

The King scowled slightly in a departure from his usual blank expression, but GameBoo Advance seemed unfazed by his obvious anger. However, it was certainly a rare event for him to refuse a demand from the ruler of the mansion, and it worried the King a little; the bizarre ghost had been acting even more strangely than he normally did, and he wasn't the only one who had noticed this change in behaviour. His eyes glowed brighter as he continued, 'Your report; I haven't got all night here. Speak immediately, and I will listen to whatever you might have to tell me. I daresay that your news is no more cheerful than usual.'

GameBoo Advance released a low, vaguely amused chuckle that floated on the edge of the King's hearing, refusing to fade away. 'As you wish, but I'm warning you now, you're probably not going to like me much after I tell you this...'

The King considered pointing out that he didn't like GameBoo Advance anyway – he didn't believe anyone did – but decided against it before the words escaped out of his mouth and made him look like an idiot. It was not a very royal thing to say and, as much as he disliked allowing this strange ghost to have his way, he didn't argue. 'Tell me at once, in case this is something urgent that I must attend to immediately.'

GameBoo Advance's wide grin suggested that he was thoroughly enjoying himself by this point, which only unnerved the King even more; what could possibly have happened that caused the fortune-teller ghost to behave like this?

'Well... it's a long story, to be honest. I don't think it would be... necessary... to explain each and every detail to you, Your Majesty, but I have some important news, and I thought it best to inform you as soon as possible. You remember that human you let into the mansion a few days back – Luigi, wasn't it?'

His voice was so convincing, so perfectly controlled, that it might have fooled the King had he not been in such an observant mood at that moment. From the way GameBoo Advance spoke, he sounded as though he barely knew Luigi, and not well enough to have remembered his name with clarity... but the King was experienced in dealing with the fortune-teller after several decades of knowing him. Somehow, he sensed that GameBoo Advance was simply trying to fool him, and that there was something more dangerous going on here than he first believed. He frowned, not voicing his suspicions, and waited expectantly for the other ghost to continue on with his so-called 'report.'

'Yes, I am aware that Luigi is apparently our ally...' the smaller boo whispered, his tone taking on a more threatening, hissing quality; it would have sent shivers down the King's spine if he actually had a spine. 'You lured him to the mansion because I predicted that he was the person who could save us and our treasure from that thief, Wario. However, I must beg you to reconsider you decision to let him stay within our walls, especially at the present time...'

'What nonsense is this?' the King growled, having lost his small remaining patience somewhere in the middle of the other ghost's vague speech, and wanting more than anything to get away from him. 'Explain yourself – in a way that normal people could understand, GameBoo. Are you attempting to tell me that your previous prediction was _wrong? _That –'

'Oh, you wouldn't understand me no matter which words I used,' came the amused answer, hidden in the impenetrable shadows that had begun to creep indoors as night fell. 'Besides, my prediction was never _wrong, _Your Majesty... I was merely mistaken when I gave you my previous information the other day. There's a big difference between being wrong and being mistaken, don't you think?' GameBoo Advance's circular, white-glowing body listed to one side, his enormous tongue hanging lazily out from his grinning jaws, his lip curling in an expression that could only be described as a half-grin, half-sneer, and the King didn't like the look of it at all.

'Get toooo the point, GameBooooo, before I lose my temper completely,' he hissed, his ghost accent returning a little in the face of his growing fury. He usually had a very firm grasp on his anger, but GameBoo Advance's strange, hard-to-understand speech tended to bring out his less controlled side. This wasn't the first time in his long, complicated existence where he had actually come close to raising his voice at someone, and he could sense that the last of his royal patience was rapidly wearing thin.

'Of course, Your Majesty,' grinned GameBoo Advance, his fathomless black eyes narrowing slightly in mischievous amusement, which only annoyed the King even further. 'You really want to know the truth, do you? If you plan of getting angry, don't bother. You know that I could teleport out of here in less than an instant if I felt that it would be... hazardous to remain in your gracious presence any longer.'

If the King had any teeth beyond a few canines, he would have been grinding them – probably very viciously, too. As it was, he could do nothing except stare at GameBoo Advance in silent warning, while simultaneously attempting to rein back the rage that he could feel simmering deep inside him. Now he remembered why he had always hated having long conversations with this mysterious ghost – he seemed to be incapable of being serious.

And then, abruptly, the atmosphere changed; it became cold, dark and menacing, and GameBoo Advance emanated all of that menace. The pearly-white illumination of the two ghosts' circular, floating forms was the only thing that prevented them from being cast into utter blackness as the moon outside slowly disappeared behind a cloud, taking all natural light with it. And the King, despite being a member of a species that spends most of its existence in the dark, discovered that he did not like the feeling of suddenly being plunged into shadow as deep and forbidding as this. He didn't even understand where the moon had gone, considering that he had looked out of the window less than five minutes ago, and there had not been a single visible cloud anywhere in the sky for as far as his eyes could see.

'So, where was I? My report, yes... well, like I said, you are most likely not going to enjoy hearing this, but... Luigi is a traitor.'

* * *

I avoided the basement like the plague all through the night, sleeping somewhat fitfully with thoughts of my family taking over my in unconsciousness, making it impossible for me to get a minute's rest. The familar face of Mario wove in and out of my dreams, and many times I saw his mouth moving silently, but I could not understand what he was attempting to tell me, and he always vanished again seconds later, fading into the strange fog that enveloped my sleeping mind. Then the fog turned thick and dark and menacing, suffocating; the only thing I could see was my cousin's face laughing wildly but soundlessly at me through the black mist, his grey eyes filled with malice...

The grandfather clock that was hidden somewhere in the mansion struck twelve, and its deafening chimes jerked me awake from a particularly vivid nightmare that I had not been able to escape. It took me a few seconds of wild-eyed staring around the bedroom before I realised that I had only been dreaming, but it had seemed so real that I wondered if it was something more than a simple nightmare. The room was cold, musty-smelling and pitch-black, but somehow its new familiarity helped to calm me down, and I slowly raised myself out of the bed and began to rummage underneath my pillow for my beloved cap.

It wasn't the first time I had woken up in the middle of the night, gasping for breath after being jolted out of the clutches of a vicious nightmare; the same thing had happened nearly every night since I had come to stay at the mansion. At first, all of my dreams were born from my terror of the dark and the ghosts, but gradually they started to morph into something different, something that I couldn't understand at all. My continuing worries about Mario and my confused thoughts on my cousin Waluigi were both a part of these dreams, and had slowly taken over every moment of my sleep. As soon as my head touched the filthy, grey pillow, they returned to haunt me with even more intensity than they had the night before, and they refused to leave me in peace until the first light of dawn crept up to my bedroom window, waking me up with startling abruptness. I was not normally the kind of person who is easily frightened by nightmares, even ones that would send most people leaping out of bed in a cold sweat; I simply wasn't bothered by them anymore.

But these new dreams were so disturbing that they were actually worrying me now, and I was starting to dwell on them during my waking hours. They made it harder and harder for me to enjoy Jak's playful chatter, or to crack a smile at BooGie's ridiculous jokes, most of which I couldn't even make sense of. I spent so much time thinking about these dreams that I couldn't sway my concentration onto any other topic, and even talking to Waluigi – and seeing him looming above me like a forbidding shadow – did not seem so important to me anymore.

I scrambled off the dusty-smelling bedcovers as though they were poisoned; I couldn't stay in the same place any longer. Ramming my cap over my messed-up hair with much more force than was necessary, I almost ran out of the room, despite the pitch darkness that threatened to make me fall down the staircase or trip over something on the floor. Pausing to catch my breath outside my bedroom doorway, both hands clinging onto the cold brass banister, I tried to think logically for once.

There was really no reason for me to be acting like this; I had never experienced such fear and panic from a nightmare before, so I shouldn't be frightened now. But these new dreams always filled me with a terror beyond anything I had felt before, and when I finally managed to wake myself up and escape from them, I was wild-eyed and gasping for oxygen as though I had been fighting countless monsters. Was there actually a decent, understandable reason for these strange, haunting new nightmares – or was I just losing my sanity from being locked up in a mansion full of ghosts for too long? If I stopped to think about it properly, I certainly did feel that I'd gone too many days without sunshine; maybe I ought to leave the mansion for a while, soak up a little fresh air, and relax for a few hours, instead of creeping around this crumbly old house with no company besides an overenthusiastic ghost, a talkative Toad and a mysterious family member who may or may not have hated me.

I closed my eyes for a moment and rubbed the back of my head with a gloved hand, feeling exhausted despite having just woken up from my sleep. Thinking about Waluigi wasn't doing me any good either, at least on a mental level – perhaps, if I had been able to understand his true intentions, I could have enjoyed talking to him more, and maybe even looked forward to meeting him again. But right now I couldn't muster up any emotion besides dread and fear, both aimed towards my cousin. The worst part of it all was that I couldn't simply forget all about him and run off to rescue Mario; I needed his help, and I needed to go back to the basement tomorrow morning and speak with him. Again.

My thoughts on Waluigi were so mixed-up and confusing that I couldn't even begin to untangle them, let alone comprehend them. I had a ridiculous number of questions buzzing around my mind like a swarm of angry bees, and I didn't know the answer to any of them, nor was I ever likely to find the answer. Did he genuinely hate me, or was it some kind of act? Did he have any connection with GameBoo Advance, and were they perhaps enemies? What were his reasons for coming to Forever Forest in the first place; was it to aid Wario in his thieving plans, or was it to seek revenge on this unknown enemy who I was now certain existed?

Whatever his reasons, he was not likely to explain them to me – me, the pathetic younger cousin who had always been hiding in his shadow, cowering in the dark and terrified by the mere sight of a ghost. Waluigi, who had always been so much more powerful than I was, would never entrust any information to someone like me, and however strong my curiosity grew over the next few days, I could never expect him to.

My fingers left the surface of the metal banister as I turned back towards my open bedroom door, deciding unconsciously that I would return to sleep until dawn came. No doubt I would be attacked ferociously by my usual nightmares the moment I drifted off, but it wasn't something that could be easily avoided; it wasn't as though I could last for very long without needing to sleep at some point. Although I was reluctant to go back to bed right now, with my buzzing thoughts still at the forefront of my mind, I was still tired and I wanted to at least get _some _rest before I was forced to deal with Waluigi again tomorrow morning.

I stared at the door which hung half-open, and slowly began to walk in its direction, feeling my way through the impenetrable darkness with both hands held out in front of me.

And then I was almost completely blinded by the flash of white light that burst at the corners of my eyes, filling the entire room with a fiery blaze that sent me staggering into my bedroom door with a deafening crash. I knew what that flash of light meant, and my heart seemed to fly into my throat when I slowly and cautiously turned around, staring into the hard faces of at least fifty pearly-white boos.

None of them spoke, but their actions were more than enough to describe what they were feeling towards me; they had surrounded me, leaving me cornered and trapped in my own bedroom with no way out. Even the window was completely blocked by the glowing body of another stony-looking ghost. It was the very first time I had seen a boo actually angry – no, furious was the word I needed – and I had never been so frightened since I came to the mansion.

This was a nightmare that I could not escape from.


	16. Chapter 16 - Thunderclap

**Author's Note: I didn't realise how long this chapter was until I looked at the word count... it's over 5000 words...**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 16: Thunderclap

The amount of glowing white light spread by the multitude of angry boos caused me to squint slightly as I stared around at them, backing up towards the far wall of my bedroom directly opposite the doorway. There were identical expressions of fury and suspicion on all of the ghosts' faces, combined with aggressively bared canines and smoking black eyes, and I trembled in horror when I considered what they wanted me for. For they had obviously come here to seek me out; what other reason could there be for the entire boo army to appear in my bedroom in the dead of night and surround me like a battalion? But that didn't explain why they all looked so terribly furious; what on earth had I done wrong this time? Gazing back at them more cautiously, I noticed that many of them had the same betrayed look in their eyes, as though they were dealing with a close friend who had turned traitor on them. But I hadn't done anything to make them think that I wasn't on their side anymore... or had I?

A horrible realisation came to mind: they must have somehow found out that I was in league with Waluigi. Perhaps GameBoo Advance had actually told them about my frequent meetings with my cousin in the basement, and they feared that, because of this, I was betraying them. I knew little about the strange lives of the ghosts, but I was sure that they still didn't trust Waluigi, even if he had not yet displayed any real hostility towards them; this was likely the reason they now seemed to hate me.

My back hit the wall, and I froze in fright upon noticing that I had nowhere left to run, and the enraged boos were pressing in on all sides. I could see my own scared-looking reflection in their gleaming canine teeth, and the hungry glints in their bottomless black eyes; how come I had never realised just how _many _boos there were in the King's army? The mansion had certainly never seemed this crowded before, but my bedroom was now teeming with ghosts, so many that I couldn't see the doorway even through their semi-transparent bodies. The nearest boo grinned nastily, his eyes narrowed, and drifted closer so that he was only a few inches in front of my face, showing his massive teeth.

'Well, well, well... if it isn't Luigi,' he growled; his voice was far rougher than any ghost's I had heard before. BooGie spoke in a light-hearted tone with no trace of malice at all, the King had a deep rolling timbre, and GameBoo Advance had an unpleasant hissing accent, but this particular ghost's voice was possibly the creepiest sound I had ever listened to. It made me want to run away from him, but unluckily for me, I was already pressed up against the bedroom wall and had no remaining escape route.

It looked very much like I was going to lose this battle, and as terrifying as that thought was, I could do nothing about it. If the ghosts won, the ghosts won, and I knew I was no match for them; a single cowardly person, without any kind of weapon on them, was worthless against an army of furious and well-trained boos. All my courage evaporated right there on the spot, and I only hoped that they would finish me off quickly, if that was their intention. I held my breath and restrained the urge to close my eyes, shutting out the horrible sight in front of me; the boos came closer with every second, tongues lolling out of unpleasantly smiling jaws, reminding me why I had always feared them in the past.

'Traitor...' hissed the nearest ghost in a voice so soft I barely understood him, drawing forth and grinning his terrible grin.

Then, quite suddenly, the whole room exploded in a blinding flash of white light, illuminating every dark corner, every dusty space, every cobweb; the boos recoiled in shock and covered their eyes with their short arms. Another boo materialised out of thin air as the light gradually died away, abandoning my small crowded bedroom to its original blackness and shadow. I heard a light cough from the newcomer as all the boos stared at him in complete shock, some faces showing surprise, some anger. I could tell that, whoever this new ghost was, his reception was not good. I swallowed in trepidation and watched as a strange series of events began to unfold in front of my very eyes.

'BooGie, it took you a loooong time to get here,' the nearest boo, who appeared to be the leader of the army, whispered slowly. His voice took on a certain peculiar wariness as he continued speaking in that soft, menacing tone that sent shivers up my spine: 'Can you explain your tardiness, or do I have to confront the King for his opinion?'

The newcomer – who I now realised was my friend BooGie – tilted his head to one side with an amused glint in his eyes, but I could somehow sense that he was being very careful; he obviously didn't want this situation turned against him. I couldn't help feeling some admiration for his bravery in confronting an entire ghost army by himself, and I wondered whether or not he had arrived to assist me. His next words confirmed that my suspicions were true.

'C'mon, BooLicious, we're all allies here,' he said with a roguish grin, waving one hand over his head in a dismissive manner. 'No need to speak to me like I'm some kind of enemy, is there? An' there's no need to tell the King anythin', either. Leave that job up to me.'

'What are you jabbering on about?' whispered the other ghost, who was evidently the commander, BooLicious. He had a deeply unpleasant look in his dark eyes, not to mention an air of complete superiority that bordered on arrogance; he reminded me of Wario from the last time I had spoken to him. Mean, cruel – and also undeniably stupid. That thought gave me a new surge of confidence, and I opened my mouth to say something to this haughty ghost when BooGie interrupted suddenly, cutting me off on my first word. Some inner instinct told me to stay quiet for now and let him do the talking.

'You know what I mean, BooLicious,' he chuckled, but I could hear the underlying hint of caution in his otherwise calm tones; he was being very careful, even more so than I had originally suspected. My respect for him immediately grew when I realised how much danger he was putting himself in right now, just to protect me from this army of angry boos. BooLicious did not look impressed by his fellow ghost's act of gallantry.

'If you only came to annoy me, then I think you can leave now,' he hissed, raising his voice a little for emphasis. 'You obviously have nothing of importance to say, and I am handling this situation perfectly by myself. Go.'

'Oh, I don't think so,' BooGie laughed. 'Not 'till you know why I came here in the first place. Where's your proof that Luigi is a traitor?'

The boo commander's eyes widened, becoming pools of inky blackness that reflected no light, like bottomless holes. 'The King himself ordered me to hunt down this... _human _and remove him from our mansion at once. Do you believe that the King would be lying to me? I need no better proof than his words, weakling!' He made a spitting motion towards the dusty floorboards in front of BooGie, but I didn't see anything coming out of his mouth, and I doubted that ghosts even had saliva. I drew in a low, shuddering breath and waited for my friend's response.

To my slight surprise, however, he seem disturbed or intimidated by the ghost commander's actions; if he was, he showed no outward signs of it. 'You never learn, BooLicious. You don't even have a reason for your behaviour towards non-ghost creatures, not that I've ever heard, anyway. And I can't believe the King actually asked you to do this. If he suspected Luigi of being a traitor –' he winced slightly at the word ' – then he would have spoken to him directly. Sending to entire army to hunt down _one_ defenceless human... a little excessive, isn't it?'

BooLicious let out his breath in one long, slow, calming wheeze; I found myself wondering if ghosts needed to breathe at all, or if they even needed oxygen to survive, but the commander's answer shook those strange musings far out of my mind.

'The King doesn't think so... he seemed shocked, in fact, that Luigi had attempted to betray us while our backs were turned... he ordered me to find him immediately. I was told to do whatever I wanted with him after we found him.'

BooGie made a slight upwards-lifting movement with his right eye that made him look as though he was raising an eyebrow, except that he didn't have one. 'The King ordered you to do that? Really? Nobody told me about this, and as a high-ranking member of the boo army, I thought that someone would have given me important news like this...'

BooLicious grinned, showing blindingly white canine teeth that gleamed and glistened in his over-sized mouth, crimson tongue hanging out between them as though it was too large to fit inside his jaws. 'The King assumed that, as Luigi's friend, you would be keeping an eye on him, watching out for something such as this to happen. Although he did not mention you, I think he was disappointed that you had not warned him about this.'

I nervously observed BooGie as his face registered a number of different expressions that changed quickly and subtly, before eventually settling on a bored interest that kept his real emotions hidden from the other ghosts. 'That's weird... so who told the King about this little incident, then? I didn't realise anyone else knew Luigi well...'

I already knew the answer to that – I had figured it all out many minutes ago, but I couldn't tell whether BooGie was actually unaware of the truth or not. He was a loyal ghost, loyal to the King and the army, but how far did his loyalty extend before he started to suspect things? Had he realised that GameBoo Advance might very well be a traitor, and not me, as everyone else seemed to think? But I couldn't say anything here, not with the entire boo army crowding around my bedroom, blocking all escape routes. I couldn't prove who was really the traitor, especially when I wasn't even sure that my suspicions were the truth.

BooGie, however, remained utterly impassive as he turned to address me directly for the first time; either he didn't know anything, or he was very skilled at hiding his emotions. 'Luigi, old friend – you don't have anything to do with this, do you? 'Cause I'm pretty sure you're not someone who would betray us like this. The King must have got it wrong.'

I hesitated, gazing back into his deep black eyes, reluctant to tell him what I thought was the truth in front of the enraged boo army. If they lost their temper and attacked us, I had no idea what I could do about it; there was no chance of BooGie being capable of fighting off dozens of other ghosts in my defence. I saw him wink very slightly, so that only I could see it, and I realised – with considerable relief – that he already knew everything he needed to know. He didn't believe that I had betrayed him, and he might even know who the real traitor was, but I was still puzzled by our situation. There was no hope for us unless we could escape the clutches of the ghost army, a feat which was appearing more and more unlikely with every word BooLicious spoke.

I shifted my gaze sideways a few inches, meeting the dark-eyed and gleeful glare of the contemptuous army commander, intending to tell him exactly who the real traitor was.

And it was at that moment, just as my stare slammed with overpowering force onto the cold, sneering eyes of BooLicious, that the room exploded. And not with bright, white light this time. It actually exploded, the wooden floorboards tearing themselves into pieces as something undoubtedly powerful struck them from underneath, a quaking roll causing the walls to tilt and sway alarmingly, dust and cobwebs shaking loose from the shadowed ceiling as the trembling movement of the bedroom nearly blew it apart.

I staggered sideways from the strength of the shaking floor beneath me, desperately grabbing hold of the nearest solid object I could find, which turned out to be the wooden headrest at the end of the bed. The boos were less affected by the earthquake, due to being able to hover in mid-air, but many of them were staring wildly around in confusion and surprise. BooGie himself was floating in front of the dark window, black eyes wide as he started calling out to his fellow ghosts to make sure they were all right.

I remained silent throughout all of this, trying to regain my breath and glancing hastily around the ruined bedroom in an attempt to see exactly what had happened. The bed, while still standing on its four crooked legs, had been dragged along the floor by the force of the earthquake, only stopping when it crashed into the wall beside the window. The bookshelf had been less fortunate; it had toppled over onto its back and spilled most of its contents across the room, scattering thick volumes into filthy corners, swallowing them up in darkness. The most obvious sign of damage, however, was the gaping hole in the centre of the floor which looked as though someone had fired a small space shuttle up through the ceiling below.

Wait, not a space shuttle... but something similar. Similar enough that I had unconsciously recognised it. The hole in the floor had definitely been created by some sort of blasting missile, probably fired from a fairly short distance away, and whatever had caused it had disappeared so quickly that nobody saw what it was. I had witnessed explosions like this in the past, but it was unusual to receive no warning before they occurred. However, I had come to associate these peculiar explosions with one person, who was well-known for his skill in creating missiles, bombs and other dangerous weapons. Tentatively, I leaned over the newly-made hole and peered into the blackness beneath it; although I knew that there was another room below my bedroom floor, the dark of the night had made it difficult to see anything where it should have been.

'It was a warning,' BooGie hissed, his normally casual voice taking on a hint of anger as he, too, gazed into the hole's inky depths. 'From someone...'

'The t-treasure thief, Wario?' I murmured in reply, out of the corner of my mouth, not wanting to let the other ghosts hear our exchange. My efforts were ineffectual, though, because I forgot just how powerful a boo's hearing was. BooLicious, who was closer to me than the rest of the anxiously hovering army, gave me a long and suspicious glare, but said nothing – rather to my surprise.

'No,' BooGie muttered back, taking care to keep his own voice as low as possible.

My head snapped around to stare at him in shock, forgetting all attempts at staying surreptitious, and ignoring BooLicious' angry hiss as he watched from a safe distance of a few feet away. 'Th-then who else could it be?'

BooGie looked more grim than ever remembered seeing him; considering how cheerful and carefree he usually was, the abrupt change caused me to almost panic. He turned towards me, also doing a good job of ignoring BooLicious, and spoke his next words with as much caution as he could muster; he seemed to be afraid of my response. 'Wario wouldn't give us any warning, he wants to stay undercover until he's ready to attack the mansion. This is a message from your cousin – well, your _other _cousin.' The young ghost's mouth lifted fractionally in apparent distaste, showing a few extra inches of gleaming silver canines and a massive crimson tongue.

I could feel the dread rising in my mind now, throwing aside all reminders of caution and completely forgetting that BooLicious and the rest of his army were still in the bedroom with us. I suddenly imagined Waluigi looming over me in the pitch-dark basement with only a flashlight to protect us from the overwhelming shadows. I remembered how he had nearly resorted to pleading with me, insisting that GameBoo Advance was an untrustworthy enemy. That night, he had not seemed angry, frustrated, or displayed any kind of hatred towards me at all; he had been normal, or as normal as it was possible for him to be, and I had enjoyed his company far more than I ever expected to. I remembered the joyful feeling of discovering a family member who I believed I would never be able to hold a friendly conversation with in our lives. Had Waluigi actually done this – blown up half of my bedroom in some sort of obscure warning that nobody could make head or tail of?

I couldn't imagine him doing something like this, even if I couldn't understand his reasons for attempting it; all I knew was that I had no choice but to believe it. Standing in front of BooLicious and the entire boo army prevented me from saying exactly what I would like to, but I knew that my cousin had somehow become my responsibility over these past few days. The unresolved issue about whether or not I had betrayed them no longer seemed to mean anything, for nobody stopped to mention it. They didn't care anymore; their old fear of Waluigi resurfaced faster than I would had thought possible, and all they wanted now was for someone, _anyone _to find out exactly what was going on right now. Even a ghost is allowed to be afraid when rooms start exploding in front of its very eyes, blown into pieces by a lightning-fast missile that nobody even saw coming.

I turned my head slightly in BooGie's direction and was not surprised to see that he was already staring at me. From his slightly raised eyebrow and tilted-sideways body, I guessed – correctly – that he was awaiting some kind of explanation for all of this, and I was only too happy to give him what he wanted.

'Listen... I'll go down to the basement tomorrow morning and talk to Waluigi about it,' I whispered, although I knew that the other ghosts had no problem hearing every word I spoke, even when I could barely hear my own voice. 'I'll find out why he did this. He doesn't usually do anything quite so... dramatic unless he has a good reason.'

I knew that BooGie, despite his good-natured grin in response, did not entirely trust my word on Waluigi's behaviour, but I could offer him nothing more on that subject. My cousin was too peculiar, too dark, and too unpredictable for me to know precisely why he did certain things, and acted the way he did. Those were his secrets alone and I was not the kind of person who would force him to explain anything he was not willing to talk to me about.

'That's fine with me, buddy...' replied BooGie, though I heard the faint note of doubt that coloured his tone, lingering at the edges of his speech. 'I'll confront the King and ask him what he means about all this... sending the army after you? Really? Is he going senile, or has he just been given some very convincing evidence? 'Cause I don't think you'd betray us, Luigi... you're a nice person, especially considering you're not a ghost...'

'Thanks,' I answered carefully, too deep in thought to smile back at my enthusiastic young ghost friend. All I could focus on was my upcoming conversation with my ever-unfathomable cousin tomorrow morning.

* * *

I couldn't quite describe that night's sleep; it was unpredictable, sporadic, and it became difficult to tell what was actually sleep and what was daydreaming. I knew that I continued to wake up at random intervals throughout the rest of the night after my strange encounter with the full fury of the ghost army, but I never remembered how long I stayed awake, before I was seemingly dragged back down into my half-dark nightmares yet again, unable to truly make sense of what was happening until the morning sunshine jolted me out of sleep entirely.

Retrieving my cap from underneath the off-white pillow that I had been resting my head on for the last five hours, I let out a lengthy yawn and glanced slowly around the room. I saw the window first; it was not sunny outside anymore, but rather grey and stormy-looking, as though the sky hadn't quite decided whether to rain or not. Weak light was streaming through the grimy, frost-coated glass, illuminating my bedroom floor with pale rays. I followed one of the filthy floorboards with my eyes, examining the dust and dirt embedded in between the planks of unpolished wood, until my gaze rested on the enormous jagged hole in the middle of the room.

After that happened, I couldn't stop looking at it. My eventful night had not given me any ideas to why Waluigi had done this, and I never expected to find out. He wasn't a person who gave away his secrets easily, and certainly not to me – the pathetic cousin who had always, and _would_ always, be less powerful than him, less courageous, less skilled. And now, I was left tangled up in a situation that nobody seemed willing to explain. King Boo believed that I was a traitor who was about to betray the entire boo army, but where was his proof of that? Had he discovered that I was having frequent meetings with my cousin in the basement, and we hadn't tried to attack each other yet? I didn't even want to think about the alternative – that GameBoo Advance, that awful ghost who I never wanted to see again, had something to do with this.

If the ghost army was now against me, I was in deep trouble. It came as a surprise that they hadn't ambushed me while I was asleep – perhaps BooGie had intervened? Yes, that sounded about right; my friend had probably spoken to the King last night and convinced him that I was not about to betray them all. But that still didn't explain the _other _events that had taken place only a few short hours ago; that explosion that nearly destroyed my entire bedroom, shaking the mansion's crumbling walls with its power. There was only one person, other than Wario, who would have attempted something like that. I was well aware that Waluigi had a considerable amount of talent when it came to inventing, building, and working explosives, especially living ones such as Bullet Bills.

But the real question, the one that had filled my mind with shadowy nightmares while I had been sleeping, was simply _why? _Had I done something wrong during my last meeting with my bizarre cousin, or was there an entirely different reason for last night's occurrence? It was possible that I hadn't actually been Waluigi's target; there was a good chance that he had, in fact, been aiming for someone else completely, and his exploding missile had simply passed through my bedroom floor during its journey. Now I was thinking about it properly, I remembered that I had never told Waluigi where my bedroom was, so he had no way of knowing. No, he couldn't have been deliberately aiming for me with that Bullet Bill of his. He must have had a different target, and the destruction of my bedroom was just an unforeseen coincidence.

With that hopeful knowledge kept in mind, I headed downstairs to seek out my mysterious cousin once again. Tracing my steps from previous visits to the basement, I was lucky to encounter no passing ghosts along the way; I had a feeling that they wouldn't be too tolerant of me this morning, after what happened last night. I also noticed several other signs of the Bullet Bill's journey through the centre of the mansion, although it was obvious that someone had been doing some frenzied cleaning recently in an attempt to erase all of these signs. I spotted a few deep cracks in the foyer walls and along the sides of the staircases, which looked as though they were on the verge of splitting apart altogether. Wondering vaguely what would happen if the ceiling collapsed while I was down in the basement, I quickened my footsteps and tried to ignore those unpleasant thoughts.

On the other hand, nothing could be more unpleasant than the realisation that I had to talk to my strange cousin again.

Last time I had met him, I thought that I had overcome my terror of him completely, for I no longer trembled in fear every time I looked into his sinister shadowed eyes. But it turned out that my newfound confidence was only temporary, and I was now feeling every bit as anxious as I usually did when facing Waluigi. I wished that I could see past his forbidding appearance, but my mind refused to accept the possible fact that he wasn't as evil as I had once believed – or evil at all, for that matter. And I still couldn't forget the memory of what he had been, many years ago; a bully and a thief, always choosing to fight whenever Mario wasn't nearby to defend me as he normally did. Even though Waluigi no longer acted so hatefully towards me or anyone else, those years could not be erased – by either of us.

It would be a very long time before we could speak to one another as family members, rather than enemies... or more specifically, an enemy and his victim, because I had never wanted a rivalry with my cousin. I feared him and eventually learned to dislike him, but I didn't feel the loathing and hatred towards him that I would have felt, had I truly been his adversary.

The cold brass doorknob was already in my hand, its coolness seeping through my thin white glove, seeming to beckon me forwards into the dark hallway behind it. I stared for a few moments at the eagle-shaped knocker, briefly imagining it with glowing red eyes and a wide, evil smile. Then, without pausing long enough to think about what I was doing, to consider the possible danger of my actions, I shoved the door open and stepped into the creeping blackness of the deep, dark shadows beyond.

* * *

The lack of light in the basement meant that Waluigi was forced to rely on his sharp hearing more than his sight; in fact, he was beginning to think that he'd never see daylight again. Of course, he could escape whenever he wanted, but his plan wasn't complete yet, and he needed to stay down here for a few more days. He had turned his flashlight off recently, not wanting to run down the batteries, preferring to save them until he really needed the extra light.

He had to be honest with himself, even if he wasn't with anyone else; he was starting to miss his little cousin's company. It became very boring quite quickly, sitting in a pitch-black room where you can't see enough to know where the door is, or even how large the room itself is. Unless he turned his flashlight back on, he couldn't even see well enough to read a book, although there were dozens of books down here, some of them possibly hundreds of years old. Even if he found Luigi's endless, frightened chatter annoying sometimes, it was still nice to hear a voice different from his own, and know that he wasn't completely alone down here in the darkness.

On the other hand... he wasn't sure whether his little plan had worked or not. The Bullet Bill he had fired off a few hours ago had left a massive hole in the ceiling, but the ghosts had patched it up as soon as they could, to prevent their prisoner escaping. Waluigi snorted disdainfully at this thought, knowing that it would take more than a few walls and a locked door to keep him trapped. He had escaped from far worse 'prisons' than this in the past, and he was confident that he would have no trouble with this basement.

His mind drifting slightly as he grew bored, he leaned against the nearest wall and considered what he had done last night. The Bullet Bill had been constructed perfectly and he knew that it would carry out his orders without even thinking; there was no reason for his plan to have failed. However, he was still anxious that he had not succeeded in his attempt, and that Luigi had been forced into danger again because of him. Not that he really _cared _about his little cousin, but they still needed each other: to rescue Mario, and to stop GameBoo Advance for good.

Closing his eyes momentarily, but with no intention of falling asleep, he allowed his sharp hearing to take over his mind. When he could not see anything, his other senses grew much more powerful than they ought to have been. It didn't take him long to pick up the distant sound of light, cautious footsteps in the hallway outside the basement door, approaching with near-silent wariness, familiar enough to know who it was immediately.

Then came the sound of the door itself being unlocked, and carefully pushed open, creaking and groaning with thunderous volume. A slight grin curled up the side of his mouth, and he slowly opened his eyes, seeing the faint touch of light where the yawning doorway stood, and the silhouetted figure within it. His little cousin had arrived, and after hours of staying awake and waiting, it was finally time to explain exactly what his 'accomplishment' the night before was supposed to be.


	17. Chapter 17 - Shadows

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 17: Shadows

It was a very rare occurrence for me to approach my cousin willingly, without even the smallest amount of fear rising to take over my mind, although it had been becoming more easy to face him recently. Normally I only needed a glimpse of his dark, sinister eyes, cast into shadow by his cap pulled down low, and I wanted to run away at once. Fighting against my fear of him never entirely worked, and there was always something about him that sparked my instinctive terror, deeper and more biting than the coldest winter I could imagine. I never understood his reasons for disliking me, and it had only been a few hours ago that we had formed a reluctant truce, briefly putting a stop to our rivalry.

After the bizarre and unexplainable events of the night before, I slowly began to piece together what I believed had happened. If my theory was correct, then Waluigi had fired that Bullet Bill through my bedroom floor to distract the boo army, keeping them from harming me or attempting to throw me out of the mansion. Of course, this did not mean that my mysterious cousin felt any family affection towards me; he was simply trying to keep me safe so that I could help him with whatever he wanted me for. There were many things I didn't understand about him, and his reasons for staying in the mansion, joining forces with me, and apparently hating GameBoo Advance, were no exception. I doubted that he would ever be ready to explain his motives, even if he was ready to accept me as a family member rather than a way to vent his anger.

Although I could not forget what I was supposed to be doing here – rescuing Mario and saving the mansion from Wario's plans – I had a strange feeling that there was a much greater danger lurking around the corner, left unseen and unnoticed. I could only describe it as a sense of pure _danger _that filled every space inside the mansion; it made me feel as though I was a frightened prey animal, trapped by a fearsome predator. And that predator was cunning enough to avoid detection, even when confronted by an army of ghosts and two fairly skilled humans. I could somehow feel him pacing around the house, tapping the floor impatiently with long, steely claws and waiting for his opportunity to strike.

The threat of Wario no longer seemed so deadly; he was just a greedy thief who drooled at the thought of the ghosts' treasure hoard and wanted it all for himself. For some reason, I knew that the _other _dangers – the ones that nobody saw and I could not understand – were the more lethal threat at the current time. Even so, I could hardly believe that I had forged an alliance with my terrifying cousin, when I didn't even know his true intentions. At the same time, I was living in constant peril as I tried to decide whether or not the ghosts were on my side, and exactly what GameBoo Advance's plans were. It was maddening.

And now I was faced with the prospect of meeting with my purple-clad cousin again, demanding answers; could I have chosen a more frightening course of action to take? Was it stupidity that connected us, or was it just my growing sense of reckless bravery that gave me the courage needed to approach him? His emotions, on the rare occasions where he showed them, were almost unreadable – tangled together like thorny vines, dark and shaded and sinister, and often leaving me more confused than before. Trying to understand what he was thinking or feeling was near-impossible, especially when he kept it all so well hidden from the rest of the world, locked inside his own shadowed mind.

And yet, every day and night I seemed to learn more about him, as though an unseen power was pouring the information into _my _mind. The small things that he told me, or that I discovered by myself, had gradually grown into something more. And I certainly knew much more about my cousin than I had done only a week ago – a week that felt like it had been a month, or longer.

It was my fifth day staying in the mansion.

Admittedly, I had not yet been living here for a whole week, but it had taken my nearly two days to traverse Forever Forest without getting horribly lost. I didn't judge time at the same speed everyone else seemed to; ever since I crossed the threshold of this haunted house's front door, the days and nights had gone by with almost painful slowness. Now, it was hard to believe that it had been less than a week since I came here for the first time, as it felt like it had been much longer than it actually was.

For a few minutes, though, everything around me seemed to speed up; within seconds I was facing the rusted door leading into the basement, where the threatening figure that was my cousin stood, less than twenty feet away from me. I was somewhat surprised that I wasn't being haunted by my old fears yet, but I was glad to be free of them for a while. It took confidence to approach my cousin at any time, but today was different; I knew how important this meeting was.

But before I could even raise my hand to knock on the door – a habit I had fallen into, although he never answered – it swung open by itself with a long, groaning creak. The room beyond was pitch-black, but I could see the beam from Waluigi's flashlight playing across the wall directly opposite the doorway. A shiver ran up my spine as I stared into the inky darkness of what had become my most feared place in the world. Desperate for some light, even if its existence was caused by my cousin, I stumbled over the threshold and almost ran in the direction of the yellow beam splashed across the stone wall.

It was instinct that guided me towards it, and it was a wonder that I never tripped over any of the objects littering the floor; I leapt past them without even thinking. My eyes darted sideways to look at a low table in the corner, and I saw the flashlight lying upon it, sending its golden beam out into the room. My hand lunged out to grab it, the pearly-white glove shining like a ghost in the blackness.

Then the door slammed shut behind me with a crash that could probably be heard in every other part of the mansion, its splintered wood groaning against the frame as it swung closed, entirely of its own volition. The dead silence that followed the crash was almost deafening; the darkness pressed in suffocatingly on all sides as I stood motionless, not daring to even twitch in case I caused something else to happen. Everything seemed eerie and unnatural, as though I was simply having a very vivid dream; none of my usual terror had returned, although I was starting to feel the beginnings of uneasiness.

With nowhere else to go, I began to head towards the light beam shining across the wall, displaying all of the dust and cracks in the stones. Somewhere under the filthy wooden floorboards I could hear a mouse scuttling, and the howling of a wolf far out in the forest was still vaguely audible, even though I was deep underground. The wind battered against the upper rooms of the mansion, producing a similar high-pitched noise. It would have been unnerving at any other time, but I felt so strangely detached that it didn't seem to bother me as much as usual, and that itself was an unsettling thought.

The softly swirling yellow light enveloped my hand as I reached out towards the small, dusty table it was lying on, wondering where my cousin had gone. Waluigi never left anything electronic switched on when he wasn't there to keep an eye on it, and this flashlight should be no exception, so why was it still glaring its golden beam across the room? Of course, he might be lurking somewhere nearby, waiting to jump out and scare me, but it wasn't the sort of thing he normally tried to do. As I contemplated all of the possible reasons that had caused my cousin to seemingly vanish into the darkness, I noticed a distinctive sinking feeling in my stomach. I had never been concerned about him before, but I could not deny now that I was worried; had GameBoo Advance finally decided to make a move? Was it _him _who had caused Waluigi's sudden disappearance, or was I overreacting as I so often did?

I didn't have time to puzzle over my thoughts any longer. The wolves outside had suddenly ceased howling, as though something had frightened them into hiding, and the basement seemed just a little less dark than before. It was still nowhere near bright enough to see properly, but I was certain that some of the shadows had been chased away, and the blackness seemed to have lightened a few shades.

When the ice-cold hand grabbed my shoulder from behind, I thought I might pass out from the shock. All of my old fears rose up again with overwhelming speed, and before I even realised what I was doing, I had leapt forwards and seized the heavy black flashlight lying on the dusty tabletop.

Trembling, I turned to see who was behind me, and quickly noticed one fact; I didn't need the flashlight to be able to see them. Because they were glowing, bright and pearly, pale streaks of whiteness spreading across the floorboards underneath them as they hovered in mid-air, fathomless eyes narrowed, canine teeth fully bared from the gaping red mouth.

I stood in awestruck, frozen horror, my grip on the flashlight wavering as my legs threatened to collapse beneath me, staring into the terrible face of none other than GameBoo Advance.

* * *

It wasn't concern for his little frightened cousin that finally set him into motion, nor was it fear for his own safety. If he had stopped for a minute to think, he might have come to the conclusion that his sudden plan was stupid and dangerous. However, he had never really been the sort of person who hesitates, and today was no exception to that rule; he was ready to leap into the action without pausing to consider what he was doing.

On the other hand... as he abandoned his hiding place and dashed across the room, he started to feel something that he could only describe as _fear. _He rarely worried about himself, knowing that his power was more than enough to keep him safe. That left only one explanation, but it didn't make any sense. He didn't _care _about his little cousin – at least not in the way that most family members cared about each other – and he didn't think his opinion had changed recently. He needed Luigi's help, sure, but that didn't mean he wanted to be friends with him, or accept him as a proper family member for the first time in their lives.

And yet he definitely felt something when he spotted Luigi being backed into a corner by that revolting GameBoo Advance. And along with that feeling came something else – an instinct that told him to rescue his cousin, quickly, before it was too late. He had no desire to act the hero and save Luigi from the clutches of a malevolent ghost, but in some well-hidden depth of his heart, he knew that it was the right thing to do.

He was no hero and he never would be, or wanted to be. But this was an action that he needed to take, even if it meant putting himself in considerable danger by doing it. In that split second when he saw his small, green-capped cousin cowering in terror from GameBoo Advance, he made his choice, and acted on his instincts without thinking.

* * *

I had never felt such intense fear before, even during my discussions with GameBoo Advance in the past; this was a deep, biting terror that left me unable to speak or move. I had been frightened enough just talking to this ghost before, but seeing that furious snarl curling his massive jaws, exposing his glittering canines... it brought out a whole new world of fear. I could do nothing except back away into a corner, cowering from the sight of this horrifying ghost who I never wanted to see again; tremors ran up and down my spine and my hands shook so fiercely that I thought my gloves might tear apart. In some part of my mind, I was aware that GameBoo Advance could not actually harm me, but the irrational side of me ignored that fact.

'Traitorous idioooot,' he hissed, his sly voice not a decibel louder than normal, yet it filled all the space between us. 'I warned you, didn't I, that your cousin could not be trusted? Your meetings with him have disrupted my entire race, turned the boos against each other... the King himself no longer has a clue what to do... the ghosts of the mansion cannot rely upon you anymore, not when they are aware of your plans.'

I released a gasp from my mouth and my breath spiralled away in thin white clouds, the frigid air apparently colder than usual. I was too numb from fear to notice any change in the basement's temperature; it always felt frosty to me. GameBoo Advance grinned more widely, his nonexistent lips curling to show off his greying canines, longer than knives and sharper than the teeth of any shark.

'I thought that I could trust you for a while, but obviously my predictions have been wrong for the first time in decades.' He hissed irritably, his carefully-concealed fury seeping into his tone, adding venom to his words. 'I am never _wrong. _I shouldn't have any problem anticipating the actions of a mere human. When I met you, Luigi, I immediately knew that you were _different _from the rest of your kind. More observant, more cautious, more wary... all of it hidden behind a wall of cowardice and _fear.'_

He drew out the last word for much longer than was necessary, tasting it as though it was an indescribably delicious morsel, sweet on his oversized tongue. The calmness was gradually leaving his voice as he abandoned his façade and spoke with all the ferocity and rage that he was truly feeling, letting me know exactly how displeased he was, how angry he was to have discovered my plans. Through my choking terror, I momentarily wondered how he even _knew _about my secret meetings with my cousin – they were secret, after all, and Waluigi wouldn't have betrayed me like that.

'Oh, don't twist your little human brain up too much,' GameBoo Advanced sniggered, drawing slightly closer and sticking out his massive crimson tongue. 'You want to know why I came here in the first place? I know everything about your plans, Luigi... I've seen them all, from the shadows, and neither you nor your scary cousin noticed me.'

Back pressed against the cold stone of the wall behind me, my eyes flicked desperately from place to place, coming to rest on GameBoo Advance's gleaming, overlong teeth. Maybe it was my imagination playing up, but his canines looked far longer and sharper than usual, more brightly glittering, as though they were growing further and further out of his jaw as I watched. The sensible side of my mind was screaming at me to pull myself together, that this ghost could not harm me in any way, he could only frighten me. The other side of my mind – which was stricken with overwhelming terror and numb with shock – ignored these facts and told me to run away as fast as I could, before something horrible happened to me.

I had no time to act on this instinct; within moments the enormous gaping jaws of GameBoo Advance were speeding towards me, teeth flashing like swords an inch away from my protruding nose, a hissing laugh rising from his scarlet mouth as he lunged. My own mouth fell open in a silent scream that caught in my throat, unable to make any sound as sheer fear took over every part of my brain. I lost my balance and staggered sideways in a futile attempt to evade the angry ghost, crashing into the stone-tiled floor with a dull thud. It felt as though I was experiencing a very vivid, very terrifying nightmare, and I couldn't wake up from it. The solid impact of my head hitting the floor went unnoticed; my eyes could see nothing except the attacking ghost and a neverending darkness that surrounded me on all sides.

And then, without explanation, GameBoo Advance stopped in mid-air, his enormous canines less than ten inches away from my face. He hesitated, and although I could not make sense of what was happening yet, I somehow realised that he had been distracted by something... or someone.

* * *

Waluigi's pure, overpowering fury must have been obvious in his expression, because GameBoo Advance halted his attack immediately, glancing around with a slightly nervous look in his fathomless eyes. But a second later he grinned again, any traces of worry leaving him faster than they had appeared, and he stuck out his giant red tongue defiantly.

'And who do I have the pleasure of being so rudely interrupted by?' His snide, bored tone held no hint of recognisation, nor did his cold eyes indicate that he had ever seen Luigi's cousin before in his entire undead existence. His circular, white-glowing body tilted to one side, and he bared his long canine teeth as he observed the tall, purple figure who stood only a few feet away from him.

Waluigi's grey eyes narrowed in distaste, hidden under the shadow of his cap. 'I think we've met before,' he hissed, not even attempting to sound friendly. All he wanted was for this vile ghost to get out of his basement _right now, _and stop terrifying his little cousin... not because he cared about Luigi, though.

An expression of mock confusion passed over GameBoo Advance's cruel features before being replaced by his usual grin-sneer, his black eyes carefully guarded. 'Have we? To be honest, I think I'd remember seeing someone as bizarre-looking as you.' His tongue stuck out of his mouth in emphasis, and he let out a short burst of unpleasant laughter that rang around the dark room, sounding much louder than it actually was.

Waluigi silently gritted his teeth as he watched the chuckling ghost; this was going to be a lot more difficult than he originally thought. He had experience in dealing with his brother Wario, who was well-known for his stubbornness, but even so... 'We've met before,' he growled in a voice so low that only the ghost would be capable of hearing him. He chose his next words with great caution, knowing that one wrong step could make everything worse for him, Luigi, and the mansion itself. 'You know exactly who I am... _GameBoo Advance.'_

The ghost flung his short, pointed arms up into the air in mock defeat, letting out another amused chuckle as he performed the dramatic action. 'So you know my name. Looks like I'm utterly doomed.' His black eyes narrowed to slits, showing more menace than he probably intended, and his lips drew back from his oversized, glittering canines. 'I've lived for a very long time... longer than any other ghost in this house, even the King himself. I've been around for countless decades... perhaps _centuries, _even! You can't possibly expect me to remember everyone's ugly face after I've been travelling the world since before the Mushroom Kingdom was built.'

Luigi's cousin was silent for a few seconds while he considered GameBoo Advance's reply, not sure whether he was telling the truth or not. It was true that he had been around for many years, and might not remember every human he'd ever laid eyes upon; even so, there was no reason for him to forget Waluigi.

He sighed wordlessly, deciding that there was only one way he could possibly end this discussion and save his little cousin, but it wasn't something he would do if he had any other choice – any choice at all. His concealed grey eyes, dark and dull from lack of emotion, flickered briefly towards Luigi, who was still cowering silently against the wall after picking himself up off the stone-tiled floor. Then he turned all his attention back to GameBoo Advance, capturing the ghost's gaze and refusing to look away.

Without letting his eyes drift, he reached out with his right hand and used it to grasp hold of his left wrist, searching for the edge of his tattered, greyish-white glove. Long fingers curled around it, tugging it off in one quick, sharp movement. Nearby, Luigi no longer appeared to be so terrified and was watching attentively, still backed against the wall, as far away from the floating ghost as possible. Ignoring him for the moment, Waluigi stretched out his left hand in front of him so that GameBoo Advance could see it.

A few feet away, Luigi's eyes widened. The faint glow from the slowly dying flashlight shone over the three of them, briefly illuminating the crooked scar on the back of his older cousin's hand, in the clear shape of the letter G. 'Remember me now?' he hissed, his voice so cold that the room's temperature seemed to drop.

Frosty silence reigned, and then the light died entirely, throwing them all into blackness which they hardly noticed.


	18. Chapter 18 - Moonlight

**Enjoy this chapter!**

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Chapter 18: Moonlight

As much as I hated to admit it, I was beginning to get used to feeling scared. The near-constant fear and nervousness that had haunted me ever since I first set foot inside this ridiculous mansion didn't seem quite so vivid anymore; it was as though I was merely experiencing a particularly strong nightmare. Either that, or I had felt so much terror in the last few days that it had become impossible to frighten me with anything new. The dream-like state that I now found myself in was a welcome relief, but it brought on a different – and highly unexpected – series of emotions, which all seemed to involve the bizarre scene playing out in front of me, its actors cast into shadow by the semi-darkness of the room.

Pale sparkling light shone out in a thick beam, illuminating the wall opposite where I was standing; the flashlight was still functioning properly, then. I was eternally grateful for its presence right now, as it helped to drive away some of the blackness that was clouding the edges of my vision, slowing down my mind and making it harder to think. I shook my head vigorously and attempted to concentrate on the sound of that so _familiar _voice that was echoing from somewhere impossibly far away... I could not remember who it belonged to, and yet it was such a relief to hear it, even if I couldn't understand the words that were being spoken. The voice was angrier than I had ever heard it before in my life; fury and frustration simmered quietly beneath its surface in equal amounts, and the tone was dark and terrifying, like a shadowed night sky with no moon in sight.

Confusion was clouding my mind as I struggled to pull myself together, wondering vaguely if I was experiencing some kind of memory loss. I shook my head again, more violently this time, desperately trying to recall what was happening; the most I could remember was that I was in the basement of a mansion. More memories slowly crawled their way back into my thoughts and I snatched at them frantically, refusing to let them slip out of my grasp once again – I _had _to remember.

Danger. I was in danger. The cold and musty scent filled my nostrils, bringing with it a new kind of recognition that sent a sudden blast of fear into me. There was a faint white glow emanating from the corner of the basement furthest away from me, and I could see that I was not being caused by the flickering, dying beam of the flashlight that was still sprawled across the opposite wall. It was a steady, continuous light that was somehow terribly familiar. One part of me sensed the approaching danger and wanted to run away from it, knowing that it was an enemy I ought to be afraid of; the other part of me felt an emotion that I could only describe as overwhelming concern – for _what, _or _who?_

Trying to remember everything was too much for me to handle, and I felt as though I had smashed my head very hard against the mouldering wooden wall of the basement – hard enough to make me forget what I was supposed to be doing here. All I knew was that I was in considerable danger and I could not – on my own, at least – do anything to avoid it. The confusion was simply too powerful, and even as I forced myself into a standing position, leaning all my weight against the wall for support, I was gradually losing the small amount of consciousness I had regained within the past minutes.

The cloudy darkness of the room expanded to swallow me in its depths, seeming to reach out blackened hands to grab me, a condescending smile forming suddenly out of the shadows. It was the familiar sneering grin of a furious ghost, a ghost I knew and recognised just seconds before the darkness took over my mind completely. In that very moment, I knew nothing but overpowering fright, and a sense of danger that I could compare with a rabbit hiding down its burrow to escape from a ravenous wolf's gleaming canines.

GameBoo Advance was smiling in that ever-so-familiar sneering manner as his lifeless black eyes bored into mine, his glowing white aura surrounding his floating body like a shroud.

I was never exactly sure when it happened, but all of a sudden I was fully awake and gasping for breath, as though I had just been rescued from drowning and my lungs were filled with freezing water. The violent coughing fit almost choked me for a few seconds before I finally managed to get it under control. I was still leaning heavily against the rotting, damp wood of the wall; the only thing keeping me upright, and my mind felt as though it was clouded with dark fog, restricting my ability to think clearly. The sight of GameBoo Advance's grinning face descending towards me, his fathomless black eyes growing wider and wider, his pale canine teeth glittering in anticipation, was imprinted in my vision. I blinked and slowly pushed myself to my feet, discovering – with a certain amount of dazed surprise – that I was capable of standing without the support of the wall behind my back.

When my eyes adjusted once again to the darkness, all of my attention immediately focused on two different things, both of which left me shocked and speechless. A cold shiver ran up my spine as I noticed, for the first time since I woke, that GameBoo Advance was nowhere to be seen. My instincts were screaming at me to run away as fast as I could and never return to this mansion, but I was comforted by the knowledge that I could not see my terrifying enemy anywhere in the basement. I was sure that the pearly-white glow of his body would be visible from a mile off in this kind of darkness, and despite my frantic glances at my surroundings, I did not see even a flicker of the ghost's pale light.

I released my breath in a long, slow sigh, grateful that I could see nobody else lurking in the basement with me. Then, as my head turned towards my right side and gazed blindly into the distance – unable to see anything properly due to the absence of the flashlight's beam – I spotted something that instantly caused panic to rise within my mind yet again. There was a large shape occupying a good portion of the filthy wooden floorboards, and as I watched with bated breath I could see the faintest twitch of movement from the unidentifiable figure. In a lightning-fast motion, my eyes flicked in the direction of the basement door, which had been swallowed by the smoky darkness all around me. With a sharp, horrified gasp, I realised that I had nowhere left to run; my good luck and fortune seemed to have finally, inevitably drained away to nothing, and I was utterly alone.

A gloved hand with long, thin, spidery fingers descended on my shoulder, and my head whipped around so fast that I nearly staggered. I still had no idea what had happened in here before I lost consciousness, and my mind was still swimming as though my skull was filled with icy, numbing water that made it impossible to think clearly. And the strangest part of it all was that, despite the unknown person's hand resting heavily on my shoulder, its cool weight brought an unexpected wave of comfort and familiarity that completely baffled me. The raging fear that had gripped me ever since I last saw GameBoo Advance began to ease immediately, and some of the haziness blocking my mind cleared.

'Stay still,' I heard a low, rough voice from behind and above me – a voice that should have petrified me with fright, but did not.

'W-W-Waluigi...?' I murmured tentatively, almost expecting a harsh retaliation simply for saying that word. I had not addressed my peculiar cousin by name in several years, and it had always contained a note of fear and contempt before. Now, it brought me instant relief just by hearing the word spoken aloud, and I knew that my lack of terror was only due to my cousin's familiar presence at my side.

'Obviously,' he replied. His tone was as dark and emotionless as usual, but I could not detect any trace of malice in it, as I normally would have done. I decided that it was safe to glance back at him, and my head turned to look over my shoulder instinctively. My eyes alighted on the narrow shape of his long-fingered hand, following his arm upwards until I was gazing directly into those pale-grey eyes that stared back at me without a hint of loathing or disgust.

'What happened? Where GameBoo Advance?' I asked, knowing that only he would be able to answer my question. The sight of him calmed me instead of frightening me, and if he noticed my newfound confidence, he did not give any sign of it.

'That _ghost _has more power than I used to think,' he spat, removing his hand from my shoulder and half-turning away from me, staring up at the ceiling with a definite sneer curling the corner of his mouth. 'Remember what you and I were talking about once before?'

I considered that statement for a long time before I attempted to respond. I had conversed with my older cousin many times throughout the past few days, but it was only very recently that we began to show any trust for each other. However, the answer to Waluigi's question came to me without much effort, as though I had always known it, hidden away in the depths of my mind.

'The Moon Powers...'

He nodded impatiently and started to pace back and forth across the room, ignoring the pitch blackness that made it difficult for me to see anything, apparently lost in deep thought. The silence that stretched out between us was not uncomfortable, but it was undeniably making me uneasy, watching him and not knowing what he was thinking about. I allowed him to pace the entire length of the basement five times, his enormous strides taking him halfway across the room with every step, before I finally spoke.

'So... are you saying that... G-GameBoo Advance can use the Moon Powers?'

My thin, wavering, yet strangely determined voice stopped him dead in his tracks, one foot slightly off the ground, not quite touching the filthy wooden floorboards underneath it. 'For once, Luigi, you're exactly right,' he sneered. 'I've been observing that pathetic ghost for years, but I never noticed that he was able to use these powers. I don't suppose you remember what happened before you... passed out?'

I frowned faintly as I tried to recall the memories, which couldn't have occurred more than ten or fifteen minutes ago, yet I could barely remember anything beyond than the sight of GameBoo Advance's eyes boring straight into mine. I started to shake my head, to tell my cousin that I had no idea what had happened earlier. Then an unexpected memory returned to me, and I wasn't sure whether I had imagined it or not, but it felt real enough. My forehead creased with the effort of bringing it back, at least enough to tell Waluigi about it, because his impatient stare was bordering on turning into a snarl.

'Y-you were talking to him.' My cousin nodded quickly; we both knew that I was referring to GameBoo Advance. 'You showed him that... that scar on the back of your hand.' As I began to remember that particular event in greater detail, my curiosity got the better of my nervousness for once. 'Wh-what was going on then?'

Waluigi stared into my eyes impassively for a few moments, during which I looked back at him with the most innocent expression I could muster; I really wanted to know more about him and GameBoo Advance. They evidently had some kind of bad history, and the scar on my cousin's left hand must have had something to do with it; I suspected that the two of them were enemies or rivals. Maybe, at an earlier point in time, they had been friends, but GameBoo Advance had betrayed Waluigi in the same way he had betrayed me. To my less-than-complicated mind, the entire situation seemed like one big mess, but I was not about to mention that, even if I was no longer terrified of my strange cousin.

Less than a minute later he confirmed my suspicions, turning his head away so that his pale-grey eyes were not locked with mine, and nodding quickly. 'I knew that he'd recognise me as soon as he saw that mark,' he growled, dark fury audible beneath the low tone of his voice. 'He was the one who left it there.'

'GameBoo Advance gave you that scar?' I questioned, interested. 'But ghosts can't really harm people...'

'You think I don't know that?' he replied, the conversation obviously making him much more irritable than usual. 'It's not a scar, anyway. It's that _ghost's _mark – his signature, if you want to get dramatic. He left it there six months ago, during our last... meeting.'

He started pacing again, while I remained standing beside the damp wooden wall, thinking about what he had said. I barely registered the sound of my cousin's voice when he began speaking, his tone low, agitated, and extremely impatient.

'GameBoo Advance is a very old ghost; he's been around for over a century, since before this mess of a kingdom was _built. _I've never seen him using the Moon Powers before, but it explains why he can apparently 'predict the future'.

'He uses the Moon Powers to do that?'

'Obviously – there's no other explanation. As you probably already know, these Powers grant their user different abilities depending on the current moon phase. They're strongest at the Full Moon, and weakest when you can't see the moon at all.'

Waluigi stopped pacing so quickly that my eyes continued to travel sideways across the darkened basement; I had been following him ever since he started moving and his sudden halt took me by surprise. He fingered the edge of his left glove absently for a moment, then spoke again without looking in my direction. 'GameBoo Advance was using his Powers today, but I didn't realise until after you woke up. He was using some kind of magic to confuse us, stop us from remembering our meeting with him. I don't know what he was hoping to accomplish by doing that, but it didn't work anyway. Actually, it worked on you, which was why you couldn't remember anything right after you woke up.'

'H-hold on!' I yelped, finding myself unable to keep up with the sudden rapid speech that made him sound like an excited scientist working on a new experiment. This was one of the rare moments when I realised just how deep his hatred of GameBoo Advance ran, burning and simmering beneath his usually calm, emotionless voice. 'What exactly are you talking about?'

My cousin did not immediately respond, instead fixing his gaze on the mouldering basement wall as though expecting it to provide him with all the answers he needed.

Somehow, despite my lingering confusion from GameBoo Advance's mysterious magic, I was well aware that we were facing a much worse threat than Waluigi's treasure-stealing brother. And if the threat could not be stopped soon, then I would be end up losing far more than just Mario – the entire kingdom seemed to be at stake, and the horrible darkness had surrounded me so that I could no longer find my way out alone. As much as I hated it, as much as I disliked the very idea of it, I knew that my cousin was the only person who could help me now – my only light among the cloud of the darkness.

* * *

The bitter, harsh wind of the night thundered around the mansion, howling through the dead forest of trees like a pack of hunting wolves, and GameBoo Advance smiled.

The faint white glow radiating from his circular body was the only light in existence; he was surrounded by the cold blackness of midnight. Rain pounded against the tiled roof of the mansion with a rhythmic, almost musical noise, pooling into the dirt on the ground, splashing out of the cracks in the water-drenched earth. The moon was like a gigantic eye in the dark sky, wide open and shining as usual, but its glowing light was muted; black thunderclouds had hidden the stars from sight and dulled the moon's beauty.

The ghost's lifeless black gaze turned upwards to stare at the faintly glowing grey orb overhead, and his smile widened. It was a terrifying expression that would have struck fear into the hearts of any living creature that saw it; halfway between a condescending grin and a disdainful sneer, his long canines glittering like well-polished swords. This was his favourite place to be, out here under the furious, wind-torn night sky, bathing in the peculiar magic of the shining moon. Soon he would put his true plans into action; all he needed was for that idiot treasure-thief to cause chaos in the mansion, and he would use the distraction to his own advantage.

He returned his dark gaze up to the moon. It was a wonderful night, so cold and black and windy, and a storm was approaching from the west with such speed that he could already hear the thunder rolling across the sky. He was grateful that his transparent body protected him from the harsh weather, but he could still feel it; he could still sense the icy wind howling through him and the crackling surges of lightning on the horizon. And the moon was waxing, almost disappearing into a paper-thin sliver of grey in the sky; the mere sight of it caused a wave of power to rise up within his mind and body, bringing him newfound strength and confidence.

His vast, crimson mouth stretched wide open, face turned towards the clouded night sky, enjoying the feel of the moon's bright rays shining down on him from above. He welcomed its unearthly power with more enthusiasm than he had ever felt before, soaking himself in the moon's glow, revelling in its dark glory.

The Moon Powers would not be anywhere near as strong as they would be on the night of the Full Moon, but they were enough for what he needed to accomplish. The memory of that idiot Luigi cowering into the corner to escape him was wonderful to remember; he loved causing fear in helpless mortal creatures. And the taller one with the purple cap... he had to be dealt with as well, and quickly. He was proving to be more of an annoyance than anyone could have predicted, and he was far more difficult to intimidate than pathetic little Luigi.

GameBoo Advance had no enemies. He only had victims, stupid prey who could not escape him if they tried. And if the Mushroom World would one day be under his control, then he could not allow anyone to oppose him... whether they were Ghosts or Mortals.

To no-one in particular, he gave his signature grin-sneer, still gazing up at the beautiful clouded moon as it flooded him with power, giving itself up for him to command. He _loved _using these Moon Powers; they were a fairly recent discovery for him, yet they changed the way he viewed the entire world.

Unlike most evil villains, GameBoo Advance did not break out into wild laughter at the prospect of what he planned to do. He simply grinned in a way that showed his sword-like canine teeth off to their fullest extent, and allowed the courage and strength of the glowing moon to fill him with new power.


	19. Chapter 19 - Dusk

**Author's Note: Finally something interesting is happening in this story! Updates should be a lot faster now, hopefully.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 19: Dusk

'All we know is that GameBoo Advance is planning something. That's it – our only lead.'

My eyes widened fractionally as I listened to the sound of my cousin's voice muttering out of the darkness, unable to see his tall shape without the glow from his flashlight. I was seated on the edge of a plastic garden chair which had, for some bizarre reason, been stashed away inside the mansion's basement as though the ghosts actually needed it. Due to the lack of light in the room I was forced to wander around, arms outstretched like a zombie, for several minutes before I stumbled across the chair hidden behind a bookshelf, and collapsed into it gratefully. If it weren't for our flashlight dying earlier, I wouldn't have to stumble around in the darkness with no idea where I was going, and my cousin was certainly making no move to assist me.

Part of my mind was still spinning from the aftereffects of GameBoo Advance's magical attack; I had a distinct feeling that this was not going to wear off anytime soon. Shades of grey formed in the corners of my eyes and obscured what little remaining vision I still possessed in the pitch darkness, and I found my sense of balance disrupted, which was my reason for sitting down in the first chair I had been able to locate. I didn't know whether or not my cousin had been affected by the strange magic, but since as he was showing no outward signs of it, I had to assume that he had shaken off the effects faster than I had. At the current time, he was doing nothing more than simply sitting on top of a wooden box and frowning slightly as though trying to resolve a complicated problem in his mind.

The words he had just spoken were the only noises I had heard from him since our recent conversation; the fading remnants of GameBoo Advance's attack were preventing me from remembering the details of it.

I lifted a gloved hand and adjusted the rim of my cap. Although the silence was unnerving, I had long ago learned to deal with it. I didn't fear my cousin now... my fears were directed elsewhere, at the threatening darkness created by the arrival of GameBoo Advance. His strange magic had been the first time I saw the Moon Powers used by anyone other than myself, and the strength of his abilities frightened me immensely. I had attempted a few pieces of magic recently, to find out whether or not I was capable of using the Moon Powers. The pitiful appearance of my own spells had disappointed me, although I had been relieved to see that I was actually able to do anything at all. GameBoo Advance's magic was potent and dangerous, disturbing the atmosphere around me and polluting the air, seeming to remove the last traces of oxygen from the room and thickening the awful darkness. How could my own weak, untrained abilities fight against the ghost who was now my worst enemy?

The question I didn't even dare think about still lingered in my mind. Would I ever be powerful enough, clever enough, to find Mario and bring him safely home? Or would my pathetic attempts at using magic destroy my only chances of ever seeing his face again? I could not explain or understand the Moon Powers, but I knew that GameBoo Advance was far stronger – magically – than I was. And my weakness was the obstacle that was stopping me from moving any further forwards, keeping me trapped in the shadows, unable to hear my brother's voice or know where he might be imprisoned.

I had no one to turn to; the ghosts were my enemies now that GameBoo Advance had turned them all against me. My older brother, the person I was closer to than anyone else in the galaxy, had disappeared and I might never be able to find him again. My thoughts twisted out of my control and showed me an image of a tall, thin figure half-concealed in darkness, his cap pulled down low over glaring grey eyes, shadows pooling around his feet. I drew in a shuddering breath that seemed to last far longer than it ought to have done, and my hands folded together on my lap as I struggled to think clearly. My sudden realisation had proven that I had no-one left to help me, no-one who I could turn towards for help, and I was entirely alone... apart from perhaps my mysterious older cousin.

Foolishness overtook me and I spoke without thinking first, voicing the question which I considered to be the most important, although I was afraid to ask it. 'What... are we going to do about the ghosts?'

GameBoo Advance's name seemed to catch in my throat, refusing to make itself heard, and I could not find the courage to say it out loud. Nevertheless, to my slight relief, my cousin appeared to have understood me, even if he did not answer immediately.

'He's obviously a master at controlling the Moon Powers,' he said eventually, not looking in my direction. Through the cloudy darkness that obscured most of my vision, I saw his pale eyes flick momentarily towards the closed door, as though watching for eavesdroppers. 'If you plan on stopping him, you'll have to learn how to use them yourself... properly, and quickly. He's not going to wait until you're ready before he attacks again.'

I jerked my head down in a nervous nod; somehow, this information did not frighten me as much as it should have done, and I kept my fear under control. 'How will I learn to use the Moon Powers? And why... _what _is GameBoo Advance planning?' My tone of voice rose slightly in pitch near the end, as I realised how little I really knew about the entire situation; I was more lost than I had ever noticed.

'One question at a time, idiot.' The insult fell from Waluigi's mouth without difficulty, as though he was accustomed to using the word, which he probably was. 'GameBoo Advance is highly intelligent, but he's not interested in anything except revenge. I can't tell you everything that's running through his twisted mind, but... I can tell you what I know.'

I instinctively sensed his uneasiness and wondered why he was speaking differently, less harshly than usual, as though his hatred of me had disappeared. We had loathed each other's very existence for longer than I could remember, and our constant fighting hadn't helped; all I knew was that Waluigi hated me, more than anyone else I had ever met. Nothing could have caused him to forget his anger, unless... our situation was even more serious than I had originally assumed. I swallowed out of habit and glanced in his direction, wondering vaguely if he was really on my side, whether I would ever truly understand him. All I could see was the silhouette of his head, the ever-present cap pulled low to keep his eyes shadowed, hidden from my sight – another thing about him that I couldn't make sense of.

'Just explain this...' I said, my abrupt return to courage startling myself, and I realised how unnaturally loud my voice sounded in the cold silence that filled the room, making the swirling blackness seem even more terrifying. 'You were saying something about... your last meeting with him. Have you seen him before? Do you know him?'

The wooden floorboards creaked and groaned noisily under the weight of my cousin's foot as he suddenly stood up, seemingly irritated by my question, although he made no move to reprimand or sneer at me; his unusual calmness was unsettling. I stood up and clasped my gloved hands tightly together, unable to stay still under the knowledge of what GameBoo Advance might possibly be planning. At the same moment, I realised that I was still awaiting an answer to my last question, an answer that was never coming. I turned nervously to look at my cousin and saw him standing completely motionless, arms folded and head bowed as though he was lost in deep thought, or searching for the right words to say.

'I'll tell you this much,' he suddenly growled, his eyes snapping up to lock onto mine, startling me with the fierce intensity of the pale-grey glare. 'I know that ghost, and he remembers who I am, even if he pretends otherwise. I suppose you could call us _enemies, _even.' He spat out the word as though it was burning venom in his throat, and clenched his fists together unconsciously. 'When I first met him, he was a master at controlling the power of the Moon, turning it into the world's most deadly magic. The symbol on the back of my hand is a mark of the curse he left on me, many years ago, when I first encountered him.'

I didn't think I had ever heard Waluigi give out such a long speech or spoken in such an angry voice, even during the years in which we had been rivals, constantly fighting. In all the time I had known him, he had always seemed incredibly emotionless, as though he had no personality at all; the memory of those years made me shudder involuntarily. And yet the strange man standing in front of me now was anything but that. The controlled fury in those bizarre, pale-grey eyes had been alarming to look at, as though I had been drowning in them. Everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom, me included, had always considered him to be a horrible freak who didn't know how to be nice to anyone. But recently my opinion on him had changed so much – I could no longer view him as a dangerous enemy, a threat to be avoided at all costs. When I looked at him right now, with those half-concealed eyes glaring back at me from under the shadow of his cap, I wasn't sure exactly _who _I could see.

When I managed to speak again, I was shocked by how blank my own voice was. 'What was the curse?'

'What's tonight's moon phase?'

I started at the return question, and hastily tried to remember the most recent time I had been outdoors; it felt like days ago. 'Um... new moon?' It was a wild guess, thrown out at random because I had no other ideas, but Waluigi gave me an approving nod as though I had guessed correctly.

'Yeah. Try to remember what the moon phase is at all times, because it will help you use your magic power more effectively.' He turned his head and glanced up through the mouldering wooden ceiling, leaning all his weight on his left foot and falling silent for a while. I followed his gaze and wondered whether he could somehow see _through _that damp, filthy wood above our heads, looking at the clear night sky beyond it. I refused to believe that that was possible, even though he obviously knew more about the Moon Powers than I did. He could very well have the ability to see through solid surfaces, considering how much magic he possessed. He had driven off GameBoo Advance earlier, and I wasn't even sure how he had managed to accomplish such an impossible feat.

For the love of Toads... being around my older cousin was starting to get very confusing. It felt almost as though little ghosts were flying around and around inside my skull, clouding my ability to think clearly.

And now I was thinking about ghosts much, much more than I should be – and much more than I ever wanted to.

'As for the curse,' Waluigi added as an afterthought, 'don't worry about it. It's got nothing to do with you – yet.'

Those words were meant to be ominous, to frighten me, and the slight contemptuous sneer on my cousin's face as he spoke made it even worse. But I was starting to discover my newfound confidence in being around him now, and the small gestures that were supposed to be scary or threatening no longer affected me so strongly. I could resist his menacing aura if I put my mind to it, and I could resist the urge to flee in terror whenever I caught a glimpse of Waluigi's eyes hidden in the shadow of his cap. It was taking some time and a lot of energy to overcome my fears, but it was gradually becoming easier to ignore them.

In any case, it seemed as though Waluigi was not prepared to tell me any more about his apparent 'curse', so I dropped the subject. I had a strong feeling that he would lose his temper if I refused to stop talking about it, and I had no desire to face my cousin's wrath tonight. My instincts were warning me to avoid angering him if possible; even if I could overcome my fears, Waluigi was still mysterious and dangerous, and probably always would be. Nothing I could do or say would ever change his personality so much that he would trust me with all of his secrets.

With nothing else to talk about right now, I went back to the subject of GameBoo Advance's unknown intentions, for they were more important than anything. 'When I first came here... King Boo wanted my help stopping a thief who was trying to steal the treasure in the mansion. That was... Wario, wasn't it?'

Even if I could overcome my fears, it wouldn't make Waluigi any less unpredictable or any easier to speak with. I wondered whether bringing up his brother in a conversation was actually a safe idea, considering that they were _siblings, _after all. What if he decided to abandon me and help Wario instead? I didn't know much about their relationship, as I had never paid them very much attention until recently, but I thought they were on fairly good terms.

But he simply waved a gloved hand in a dismissive manner and replied, 'Whatever Wario's up to, it's nothing to do with me. He's not the real danger here, GameBoo Advance is.'

I nodded absently without looking at him, trying to imagine what Waluigi really thought about his brother. I wasn't entirely sure how his mind worked – in fact, I couldn't even begin to fathom something so complex and confusing. But Mario and I were almost inseparable; we went on adventures together, lived in the same house, rescued the Princess together. I never stopped to wonder whether the same could be said for all siblings. Judging by Waluigi's expression when he uttered Wario's name, I supposed it could not. And that only made my life seem even more like a giant three-dimensional puzzle. Why did some families stay close together, remaining friendly with each other, but some did not? Was there really that much difference between them, or did I know less about the world than I originally thought?

An impatient-sounding cough interrupted my tangled contemplation, and I looked up to meet my cousin's eyes.

'As I was saying,' he growled, an faint irritable note to his voice, 'it would be better if we didn't stay in the mansion much longer. GameBoo Advance could attack at any time. I don't know why, but he's after you. You're his next target, and he won't rest until he's accomplished whatever he wants to do.'

I almost raised my eyebrows at these words – that surely couldn't be _concern _I heard in his voice? - but managed to restrain the urge. I needed to keep Waluigi on my side now; we couldn't afford to become enemies again. 'Leave the mansion?' I asked in confusion, the meaning of his statement only just sinking into mind. I wasn't stupid, but I was exhausted, and I had experienced more than enough terror for one day.

Waluigi made a slight movement that made me think he was rolling his eyes, even though I couldn't see them clearly. 'That's what I said.'

'B-but why now? We've lived here for ages and nothing's happened yet... and besides, we can't abandon everyone else!'

He sighed in exasperation and started pacing up and down the dark room again (I was getting used to watching him do this). 'Don't you understand anything? The entire ghost colony in this mansion, including the King himself, has been turned against you. They don't realise that GameBoo Advance is doing anything wrong – they think he's a wonderful person. And the King trusts him with his undead life.'

'What about my friend, Jak?' I argued more forcefully, determined to prove that I was not the idiot he thought I was.

'The Toad? He can come with us, if you want him too. I don't particularly want to be dragging around more passengers, but I know you won't leave without him.'

Relieved, I nodded quickly. Then the meaning of his words struck me with their full strength and I stared up at him in surprise. 'Passengers?'

He turned slightly towards me and grinned. It was visible even through the darkness, and it was not the cold, terrifying smile I was accustomed to. It was warmer, more friendly, and it made me realise how much my cousin had come to enjoy my company over the past few days. There was no longer any remnant of that old hatred that I had known and feared throughout all my life.

'Let's just say that walking out of this mansion is going to be a little difficult.'

* * *

Exactly three minutes and thirty seconds after I left the basement, I was dashing back and forth across the upstairs landing, transporting various objects from my bedroom and throwing them out of the doorway. I didn't have much, because I had come to the mansion carrying nothing except food supplies and my flashlight. But there were a few other items that I wanted to keep with me, even though they didn't belong to me – the shiny new flashlight hidden inside a drawer, and the green sunglasses I found underneath the bed. Most of them were important objects that could be very useful on my approaching journey. Well, OK, the green-tinted sunglasses weren't really that essential, but they looked good on me. Even though it was difficult to judge my appearance when I was staring into a mirror that was so filthy I could barely see the glass at all.

I snatched up an ancient leather suitcase, deciding that it would be useful for storing all of my belongings in, and tossed it out onto the landing. From the top of an overturned wooden crate, Jak the Toad was watching my progress with an almost humorous look of incredulity on his small face.

'So, umm...' he said at last. 'Are you going to explain what you're doing, or is it a big secret that I'm not allowed to know about?' His voice sounded a little different at the end; there was a subtle note of resentment beneath his light-hearted tones. Despite my frantic work, I was still listening to every word he spoke, and the slight sulkiness caught me off-guard. But after I pondered it for a few seconds, I thought I understood why. I had not been telling Jak anything recently, because my meetings with Waluigi had been kept a complete secret from everyone but the two of us. I hadn't explained my plans or intentions, or even my fears, to the young Toad boy, and he must be annoyed that I hadn't spoken to him in so long.

As soon as I came to this conclusion, I paused what I was doing, a battered old suitcase in one hand and my left foot stretched over the threshold of the bedroom doorway. I wasn't the sort of person who felt guilty about everything bad that happened around me; I was smart enough to understand that I couldn't control the darkness in the world, and not everything was my fault. Very few things were really my fault, and I never had any reason to feel guilt over the things I had done in my life. But I couldn't help feeling a small amount of remorse for the way I had been treating Jak. He was supposed to be my friend and companion; he had been the first actual friend I'd met when I entered the mansion for the first time. Had it really been five days ago? Time seemed to stand still when I was in this strange place, and I had never noticed just how long I'd been staying here.

'Sorry, Jak,' I finally responded. 'I've been so busy recently that I didn't even think about you... that was my fault.'

'Huh. I suppose you've been working on something important?' he replied, lowering his eyes and scuffing his shoe along the wooden floorboards.

'Yes, actually. I didn't have anything else on my mind for a while. It's been... quite time-consuming.'

'You don't have to keep any secrets from me. I already know we're in danger.'

For the second time that day, I had to force down the urge to raise my eyebrows in disbelief at someone else's words. I had not expected Jak to know so much about what was going on in the mansion; he had always struck me as being an enthusiastic, cheerful, but not very observant person. And he was young by the standards of his species; I guessed that he was the human equivalent of eight or nine years old.

'I thought you didn't know anything about that,' I told him.

'Since you disappeared –' the last word was accompanied by an accusing glance in my direction '– I've been exploring the mansion in search of information. It's strange that I used to be terrified of this place, but it's not so bad now... anyway, I found out a lot more than I expected. The ghosts are acting like they're afraid of something, especially the King. He hasn't left his room since that weird incident with the Boo army chasing after you.'

I nodded in understanding and, taking my eyes off him for a second, threw the old suitcase out onto the upstairs landing. 'You're right. Everything's been very strange lately... I've been trying to sort it all out, and find Mario too. Unfortunately I've had to ask Waluigi for help. I can't do everything by myself.'

Jak gave me a distinctly shrewd look and crossed his arms in front of his body. 'C'mon, Luigi, you can trust me. We were friends before all this stuff with Waluigi started happening. And I want to know what's happening, before I get myself into danger without noticing.'

'We still _are _friends,' I argued, hoping that he understood my reasons for leaving him alone for so long. Jak was kind and surprisingly brave – an excellent companion to have by my side in these circumstances. But after ignoring him for days in an attempt to repair my broken family relationship with my cousin, I didn't deserve Jak's friendship. 'Let's make a deal. Waluigi and I have agreed that it's too dangerous to stay in the mansion any longer, when we don't know what Ga – I mean, Wario might be planning.'

I caught myself before I uttered GameBoo Advance's name, shuddering involuntarily. There was no need to terrify the young Toad before it was necessary.

'We're leaving the mansion tonight. We'll be using a special motorbike that Waluigi's been building during the time he was locked in the basement. It's the fastest way to get away from here without anyone noticing.'

Jak squinted at me in what I guessed was a suspicious manner before finally nodding in acceptance, causing me to sigh with relief. 'All right, I'm going with you! But you'll have to explain everything else along the way. I reckon riding on the back of a motorbike for hours is going to get boring.'

I turned back into my bedroom to search for more objects I could take with me on the coming journey. I was so pleased that Jak had forgiven me, and had agreed to accompany me from now on, that I let a smile curve across my face. With so much danger approaching and no light at the end of the dark tunnel, it was hard to feel happy anymore. But, just for a few seconds, I allowed my smile to widen, enjoying the moment of peace before we set out on our journey.


	20. Chapter 20 - New Moon

**Author's Note: This chapter features a motorbike crash and a long ramble by GameBoo Advance...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 20: New Moon

We were alone.

In the pitch darkness of the cloudy night, I could see nothing more than the faint outlines of the spindly, spider-like trees growing along the sides of the path, their creeping branches stretching towards me like fingers. There were no stars or moon to light our way tonight, and we relied on the headlamps of the enormous motorbike we were riding to guide us. I could also tell that this forest was not often traversed by people, as the road was rough and bumpy as though it had not been used in decades; bumpy enough that I began to fear for the safety of our bike's tires. Every time we hit a ditch in the earth, I felt myself tipping forwards in the seat and grabbing hold of the nearest solid object to avoid falling off completely. My heart was pounding from the terror of the journey, and the wind rushed past us so violently that it had become difficult to breathe. And the air was bitterly cold; it smashed into me with such force, trying to throw me from the bike, that I wondered if there was something unnatural about it.

Despite my growing nervousness, I did not mention anything to either of my two travelling companions. The monstrous roar of the motorbike drowned out all other sounds and I doubted that they would be capable of hearing me. My hands gripped the edges of the black leather seat with rapidly fading strength, already turning numb from cold even though I had not removed my gloves during the journey. I was beginning to fear that we would all develop frostbite before we saw the next morning; the wind that tore past my ears was painfully bitter, and I wondered whether or not it had been a safe idea, leaving the mansion so close to nightfall. No matter how dangerous it would have been to stay there any longer, I couldn't stop myself thinking that we were all going to die from the cold before this harsh night was over.

The motorbike was massive, measuring a full eight feet from end to end, making it larger than most cars. It was painted a dark purple colour with narrow stripes of black running vertically down its sides, which not only helped it to remain hidden in Forever Forest, but also matched the colour of Waluigi's cap. I noticed other small details of the motorbike that I hadn't had a chance to see earlier, such as the grey stripe running around the front tire that reminded me, vividly, of my cousin's cold pale eyes. The vehicle was large enough to carry four fully-grown humans, so it was very comfortable for me, Waluigi, and Jak to sit on together.

Or it might have been comfortable, if not for that wind. That cold, vicious wind that blew my hair out behind me and froze my fingers to the edges of the leather seat, threatening to throw the much smaller Jak off the bike entirely. I didn't need any dramatic adjectives to describe this wind, like 'tearing' or 'howling'. It was just cold, bitterly cold and powerful, slamming into us with the force of an icy wall.

It made me reconsider my agreement to leave the mansion in such a hurry, especially when I wanted nothing more than a nice, blazing fireplace to sit beside, and a comfortable bed to sleep in. I had not been prepared for the harshness of this journey; nobody had bothered to tell me how horrible it would be before we left. Nobody had warned me about how freezing it was, or how strongly the wind blew through the treetops of the dead forest, whistling like an eerie song, filling my ears with its constant emotionless noise.

What made it even worse was the fact that neither of my travelling companions seemed at all affected by the journey. Jak was perched on the back of the seat behind my head, and I could feel his tiny hands occasionally resting on my shoulder to support himself when the ride grew particularly rough. He was wearing only a thin blue waistcoat, like all Toads did, with no sleeves, and I wondered how he was not freezing to death. Meanwhile, Waluigi was sitting in front of me with his gloved fingers wrapped tightly around the handlebars, twitching frequently to bring the motorbike back onto the correct course. I never realised how well he could drive a motorbike; I always assumed that it was Wario who liked that kind of activity. Waluigi had always seemed more quiet, more peculiar, certainly not the person who might enjoy storming through the forest at a dangerous speed like this.

Then again, there were countless things about my cousin's life that I had no knowledge of, and perhaps never would.

A violent shudder passed through me, causing the bike to tremble insignificantly, almost imperceptibly.

Jak shifted cautiously so that he could lean into my ear and speak quickly, urgently, over the noise of the engine.

'C'mon, Luigi. We've only got a little further to travel. Waluigi said we were going to stop and rest in a forest clearing, right? Well, I think I can see it now.'

Some cold-numbed corner of my mind wondered whether he was saying that just to reassure me, and it wasn't the truth at all, just a false comfort. But I forced myself to tilt sideways with a colossal effort, staring at the cobbled path ahead of us, which seemed to twist off endlessly into the dark depths of Forever Forest. Yes, there was a good reason it was called 'Forever Forest', and I had never understood it before, as my visits to this area had been very rare. But now I knew exactly why it had been given that ominous name; it was neverending, eternal, trapping anyone who was unlucky enough to lose themselves among the spidery dead trees. There was no way to escape this forest, and this strange starless night would never give way to the light of dawn again. I couldn't trust Waluigi to lead us out of here safely; I was already starting to feel peculiar, as though the forest's darkness was having an effect on me at last.

Jak prodded the back of my shoulder and jolted me out of my strange musings. When I finally registered that he was talking in my ear again, his voice sounded different. Too nervous, too worried, nothing like the courageous and adventurous young Toad I that was accustomed to. Even though he was speaking directly into my ear, his mouth inches from the side of my head, he sounded far away. As though he was whispering to me with a distance of several metres between us.

For the first time since we had initially set out on our journey, I saw Waluigi turn around to look at me, one hand still curled around the handlebar. As usual, his cap was pulled down low enough to shield his eyes from view; the powerful wind hadn't blown it out of place yet. But I guessed from the grim set of his mouth that something was happening, something bad that he had not anticipated.

'...We need to get to that clearing fast,' Jak's strange, faraway voice said tensely from somewhere behind me. 'It's dangerous, being out in this kind of weather. The temperature's dropping like a swatted fly.'

My cousin made no comment on Jak's odd comparison, and instead directed a concerned glance in my direction. I was slumped from exhaustion, leaning back far enough that I could use the back of the leather seat as a windshield. My hands were much too cold-numbed to get a grasp on anything anymore, and I had pulled my own cap down to protect my eyes from the freezing gale. I could still hear Jak's voice echoing distantly, so quiet and faded that I could not understand a word he was saying, and I recognised Waluigi's sharp response.

Eventually, my cousin took one final glance at me and then turned back to face the road ahead of us, all of his fingers gripping onto the handlebars with renewed force. If he was angry or annoyed that Jak was forcing him to stop the journey, he gave no obvious sign of it, but that was to be expected. Waluigi was a master at concealing his true emotions and keeping himself distant from everyone else; I could never guess exactly what he might be thinking.

Then, just as I was starting to drag myself back into full consciousness again, the motorbike gave an alarming lurch to one side and the wind began to scream. I felt my left knee scrape along the ground for a fraction of a second as the bike tilted, nearly parallel with the cobbled forest path it was speeding along. Jak let out a brief yell of fright before managing to stifle the noise, instead grabbing onto my shoulder to stop himself from toppling over the edge of the seat. He was so much smaller than a human that even the slightest lurch of the motorbike could be a potential danger for him, and I knew it as well as he did.

Waluigi twisted the handlebars in the opposite direction, clearing using his skills from the old karting competitions to keep us all as safe as possible, less likely to be flung sideways off the seat and into one of the thin black trees on the edge of the path. The bike entered a drift, sparks gathering underneath the back tires and flying upwards to disintegrate in mid-air. In a sudden explosion of panic and confusion, the broken rock that filled the centre of the path seemed much larger than it really was. That was when I finally lost control and did something incredibly stupid which I would later regret – for a very long time after.

As the bike drifted towards the jagged corner of the rock in an attempt to evade it entirely, I leapt sideways and away from the leather seat, jumping into open space. Jak, who had wrapped both of his small arms around my arm in an attempt to stay secure on the bike, shouted an unintelligible warning as he was dragged along with me, too frightened to loosen his grip on my sleeve. The world spun wildly around me in a whirl of vague, dark colours for no more than half a second, but the sensation was burned into my memory. Then the sudden, shocking, solid impact of a body crashing against dead wood rang through my ears, producing a hollow thud and a splintering crack of dry tree bark.

The abrupt lack of movement took a few moments to register in my brain, and it took even longer for me to remember what had actually happened in those last seconds after I launched myself off the motorbike. What a stupid decision that seemed to me now, and I could hardly believe I had tried something so dangerous, without even having a legitimate reason to give myself. But it had been a split-second choice, born from wild fear and an instinctive attempt to save my own life as well as Jak's. I could still feel the young Toad clinging to the edge of my sleeve, refusing to release his grip even after we hit the ground.

Then I finally opened my eyes with surprisingly little effort, and slowly began to pull myself to my feet, fighting the disorientation that threatened to overbalance me. There was a faint, almost unnoticeable ache in the back of my skull, not to mention my clothes being covered in dirt and mud and my hat missing. Even though I loved that hat, there were far more important things to worry about right now. Jak's hands suddenly loosened as I stood up carefully, and I heard a light thump as he dropped back to the ground, causing panic to rise up in my throat; had something horrible happened to him in the fall?

But it seemed as though we had been fortunate enough to avoid any injuries, for Jak let out a slight groan and pushed his enormous feet underneath him, gradually moving into an upright position that matched mine. It felt like I was waiting for several minutes before he finally lifted his head, raising large black eyes to meet mine, and I sighed in relief upon noticing that he seemed to recognise me. And he was still carrying that now-familiar shrewd expression that I had seen on his face several times recently; he knew exactly what had just occurred and he didn't appear to be that worried because of it.

'So,' he said simply, his voice possessing a faint tremble, but otherwise completely calm and self-controlled – I had expected that. 'The motorbike crashed.'

He stuck his mud-splattered hands into his waistcoat pockets, the corner of his mouth twisting into an odd little smile as he spoke, and looked right up at me. For a moment or two, I had no idea what to say to him. I felt like I was spending far too much time asking for Jak's forgiveness recently, more than I ought to be, if I was not taking him on dangerous adventures with myself and my bizarre cousin.

'That was an accident,' I replied. 'I think I wanted to get off the bike before it crashed.' I shrugged vaguely, nothing more than a slight rising-and-falling movement of my shoulders, and let my mouth curl into a bitter smile. I could see my own hair blowing in the wind right in front of my eyes, long brown strands that had come free when I lost my cap during the 'accident', and it was starting to become distracting. I brushed them aside with the back of my dirt-stained glove, noticing that its colour had turned from pure white to muddy brown-grey when I jumped off the motorbike.

Jak's strange, calculating smirk dropped as though it had been shot off his face with an explosive Bullet Bill, and he folded his arms together, suddenly looking nervous. The wind was whistling quietly and eerily through the leafless treetops; the worst of the storm had died away mere minutes ago. But I could hear nothing except that soft, high-pitched howl of air currents whipping between branches of dead, blackened wood. It was at that moment I finally realised why Jak was nervous – we were utterly alone in the forest, without the motorbike or Waluigi to help us escape.

We both stared into each other's eyes, fear meeting fear, jet-black locking onto sky-blue. For a moment it felt like we were silently communicating, trying our best to reassure one another without the effort of using words.

Then we were both sidetracked by a tremendous noise emanating from between the trees, further up the forest path – an explosive crash that was so loud it left our ears ringing, erupting from somewhere deeper in the woods, from the forbidding blackness that hung like a shroud around the lifeless trees.

Another split-second of wordless communication as our eyes met again, and then we were both running in the direction the sound had come from.

Noticing that Jak was nowhere near fast enough to keep up with my fairly long strides, I leaned down and scooped him up into my arms without slowing my pace. The young Toad clambered onto his familiar perch on my left shoulder, his gaze staring determinedly ahead, and I continued to run, all of my remaining energy concentrated on that simple task.

A few days ago I would not have been able to comprehend my reasons for wanting to do this, but now everything had changed. My view of the world was so different from what it had been originally – before I came to the haunted mansion – that it made perfect sense for me to do this. All I understood was the powerful instinct to find my strange cousin, who had once been my worst enemy and was now my only hope for rescuing my brother.

I ran on, watching a thin trail of dark smoke rising from the small forest clearing somewhere ahead of us.

* * *

(GameBoo Advance's POV)

A pearly white, faintly gleaming glow surrounded the transparent, circular body of the ghost as it hovered motionless above the treetops. The howling, icy-cold wind that rustled the black branches and stirred the dead leaves on the ground into life had no effect on him. Apart from the slight wavering of the pale glow around his body, there was no movement coming from him at all. He floated a hundred feet above the forest and gazed down at it expressionlessly, as though willing it to burst into flame beneath his fathomless stare.

He had lived for an unbelievably long time, longer than most ghosts had ever existed, and he cared little for the pathetic weaknesses of living creatures. The plants could wilt and crumble to dust and he wouldn't even blink at the sight; the animals could all collapse and die and it would mean absolutely nothing to him. It wasn't because he hated mortal beings or because he wanted to watch the world decay in front of him – he had no particular reason, never had, never would. He didn't understand _why _living creatures always showed so much care and affection for each other, and he frequently wondered what it felt like to be one of them, an animal capable of some emotion other than smouldering annoyance and a constant, vague sense of humour which he could never completely get a grasp of.

Twenty years ago, the Mushroom Kingdom had been little more than a small village built at the edge of a vast river, a collection of houses in which the Mushroom People all lived. It had been peaceful back then; more forests, more fresh water, more darkness... fewer stupid humans and less pointless noise.

Fifty years ago, this entire world had been a great countryside filled with woodland and rivers and mountains. Clean air, clean water. No smoke or fire or any of that ridiculous nonsense that humans seemed to be so fond of.

A hundred years ago, back when he had still been a young ghost and had little knowledge of the world, he had never seen anything except dark, jagged mountains with snowed-over peaks, and a constant freezing wind. No warmth. No plants. No creatures but himself. Those had been among his first memories of his existence.

Time was insignificant, it meant nothing and told him nothing. He lived to see the sun fall below the horizon and the great, white moon dominate the midnight-blue skies. He lived for the pure, cold beauty of the night and the darkness, not for the stupidity of the daylight hours and the horrible, scorching heat of the sun. He was a boo, the most powerful and cunning of all ghosts, and he was the oldest and most knowledgeable of his kind. He ought to have been a natural leader, and could have easily overpowered the King and taken the crown for himself, but he had no desire to become a ruler. That was one of his more unusual characteristics; he longed only for eternal darkness and the radiance of the full moon, not for leadership or royalty. Rather like the human race, and mortal creatures in general, they meant absolutely nothing to him.

He didn't consider them to be his _prey. _He could not directly harm them – one of the largest disadvantages of being a semi-transparent ghost. However, he enjoyed satisfying his curiosity when it came to those pathetic living creatures. In a way, they were his favourite method of entertaining himself; other ghosts might find it surprising, but humans were actually very amusing to terrify out of their wits. Especially in the middle of the night when they were already nervous and jumping at every shadow – that was a ghost's idea of fun. That was all he wanted humans for, and all he ever would; it wasn't as though he wanted to befriend them or anything stupid like that. They were only good for one thing, and if they couldn't be frightened easily then they were utterly worthless in his eyes. Entertainment value.

Ah, the joys of being a ghost.

And these particular humans were certainly keeping him interested at the current moment in time, especially that green-capped skinny one who seemed to be terrified of anything and everything that moved... And, of course, the tall purple-capped one who he remembered from several years ago, the one who was cursed. Just thinking back to those memories caused him to let out a smoky sigh of delight; oh, how he loved scaring people. And pretty soon, _Luigi _was going to find out exactly what his cousin's 'curse' was all about.

GameBoo Advance was watching them from afar, waiting until the right time came for him to make a move forwards, enjoying the humans' struggle through Forever Forest on that blasted noisy motorbike. He had created the windstorm, summoning the unearthly magic of the Moon Powers and turning them into a violent gale that screamed through the spiky tree branches. It was all for his own enjoyment, after all, and he wasn't doing anything that would really _hurt _those weak little mortal creatures, as long as they didn't do something stupid and walk right into the danger. He had assured himself that the storm would do nothing more than terrify them, and maybe make them crash their noisy motorbike – that _blasted _motorbike that was disturbing the peace of the forest. That was all humans were needed for, weren't they? Entertainment value.

Some might have considered him mad, especially after they heard his echoing laughter or gazed into the deep, dark pits of his fathomless eyes. He wasn't mad at all, and he was quite sure he wasn't stupid either. He knew exactly what he was doing – he was acting the way a ghost should by scaring people – and he was loving every moment of it.

He loved it even more when, quite by accident and certainly no intention of his own, the noisy motorbike went crashing headfirst into a thick tree trunk.

The flaming, crimson-and-black explosion of fire and smoke would have been deafening to anyone who had real ears. Thankfully, GameBoo Advance had not come into existence with those particular features. Nevertheless, his face split into a wide grin that showed every last inch of his glittering, too-long canines, from the scarlet gums to the needle-like silver points. As he surveyed the pathetic trail of dark smoke rising from the crash site, spiralling up into the night sky, and fluttering away helplessly in the cold wind, it made him even happier.

He hadn't even _meant _for that to happen...


	21. Chapter 21 - Shaded

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay (again)! The next chapter should hopefully be finished more quickly than this one.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 21: Shaded

I had already guessed that the ferocious, violently howling storm attacking us was not natural weather, but something far more sinister that I didn't even want to think about. As I ran along the uneven dirt path winding deeper and deeper into Forever Forest, the dead trees around me were being forced backwards by the strength of the screaming wind that tore at their branches, reaching out across the path like spidery fingers.

Jak was half-crouched on my shoulder, his jet-black eyes staring ahead of us, slightly narrowed with determination. One of his small hands was gripping onto a tuft of my hair to keep his balance on his unsteady perch. I could not tell what he was thinking, nor why he had chosen to accompany me on my dangerous journey out into the forest, when he could have stayed in the mansion and been safe and comfortable. His dark eyes gave away nothing of what he might be feeling, and when I stole a short glance over my shoulder at him, they reminded me horribly of GameBoo Advance's eyes.

Grey smoke rose up from between the trees in front of us, forming indistinct pale shapes in the dark sky above the forest. It was a clear night; although I could see blue-black clouds dominating the distant horizon on my right side, the stars were still visible, glittering dimly between the ragged tree branches. The sight of the small, silver lights in the sky brought me little comfort. Virtually anything could happen to me out here, and the recent motorbike crash had assured me that we weren't safe. We would never be safe as long as we stayed here.

Breathing heavily, I finally slowed my reckless pace as we neared the small forest clearing where I knew the motorbike had headed. Jak leaned forwards to get a better look at our surroundings, still clutching my hair in surprisingly powerful grip. I could see nothing except the shadowy forms of the trees growing along the sides of the path, and I doubted that Jak's night vision was any better than mine.

'We're close,' he muttered, his voice calm as usual; I never understood how he managed to keep his head in these sorts of situations.

'Um... how can you tell?'

He pointed his thumb in the direction of the treetops, and I carefully followed his gaze, though I could barely see the outline of his tiny hand. 'Can't you smell the smoke?' he asked incredulously.

My nostrils were filled with the scent of pine needles, rotting wood, and a few other things I couldn't quite identify. However, when I concentrated hard and took a deep breath, I actually _could _detect the faint, sulphurous smell of smoke. Jak was right; the scene of the motorbike crash wasn't far away from here.

He nodded. 'You noticed it? It's coming from that clearing just up ahead. I'm guessing the bike hit a tree trunk somewhere in there. That would explain the explosion and the smoke... I'm not sure where your creepy cousin is, though.'

I narrowed my eyes and set off towards the clearing at a fast walk. For some reason – a reason I might never comprehend – Jak's frequent, casual insults directed at my cousin were becoming infuriating. I let out a long breath as I walked, trying to force that familiar, simmering annoyance back down where it belonged.

'Hey, hey...' he started, tightening his grip on my hair as my sudden burst of speed nearly caused him to lose his balance. 'Cool it.'

I ignored him, though I secretly envied his strange ability to stay calm no matter what was happening. I had a feeling that even if the world was burning, falling apart around us, he would never show the slightest sign of panic.

How he had changed from the terrified Toad I had met on the mansion staircase that dark night, so long ago.

We neared the clearing, my feet pounding into the grey dirt that covered the ground and nearly tripping over the tree-roots that crisscrossed the path. Jak tightened his grip still further as I came to an abrupt halt, staring into the darkness ahead. It was ridiculous to believe that I might be able to see Waluigi from that far away, but my instincts were warning me not to approach any closer; that solid blackness was intimidating, threatening. I drew in a shuddering breath and forced myself to ignore the chill running down my spine, instead focusing hard on the immediate problem at hand. 'Jak, can you see anything from here?'

The Toad straightened up; I could feel his hand pulling painfully on my hair and his small shoes scuffling against my shoulder. 'Nope, not a thing.'

I had a feeling that even if he _was _capable of making out my cousin's position through the darkness, he wouldn't bother telling me, as strong as his hatred for Waluigi was. I couldn't ask for his help now; I had already expected far too much from him. 'Let me know if you see anything... will you?' I muttered before sprinting forwards, trying my best to ignore the cloud-like inky shadows that swallowed the scenery on all sides.

Without warning, the rancid smell of smoke that had been floating in the atmosphere struck me with its full force. It was thick and bitter, pulling the oxygen from the air and making it almost impossible to breathe. I barely paused long enough to take a deep breath before plunging onwards into the dark-grey, sulphurous wall, Jak clinging to my shoulder with his hand pressed over his mouth to block out the fumes. The outlines of the dead trees along the sides of the path became barely noticeable, concealed behind a barrier of smoke and shadow and – fortunately – taking my attention away from the spidery branches that reached across the path above my head. I had one thing to be thankful for – the horrible smell was leading me straight towards the site of the crashed motorbike.

Within a minute, the scent had intensified so much that I had to cover my own mouth with my mud-stained glove, eyes watering from the bitterness of it. Jak drew in a ragged breath and immediately released it as a spluttering cough, but I had no time to make sure he was all right; we couldn't stay here for much longer. I was sure of that. If the gas thickened any further, not only would we have trouble seeing anything, but we were liable to die from prolonged smoke inhalation.

Then I finally spotted it. If I hadn't been so frantic by then, I probably wouldn't have noticed the tiny spark of light in the trees ahead – a small fire, flickering with welcome warmth and new life.

I almost tripped over the shattered remains of the motorbike. Looking down, I saw what looked like part of the handlebars, a scrap of leather, and an exhaust pipe issuing vast amounts of dark-grey smoke, all lying within inches of my feet. Jak shifted his position, then reluctantly jumped off my shoulder and landed lightly on the ground to investigate the wreckage. I raised my eyes to the line of blackened trees in front of us, where the motorbike must have impacted before breaking into a hundred pieces, leaving a dark crater against the rough wood.

After the shock of seeing the crash site, I immediately set to work locating my cousin among the debris. My mind was filled with an alarming anxiety that shouldn't have been there, shouldn't have even existed – why would I care what happened to him? He might have been a family member, but he had never shown me kindness or affection, nor did we consider each other to be true_ friends... _I had no reason whatsoever to be concerned. Yet I was, and I had no time to stop and consider the absurdity of it. All I could think about was finding him before it was too late, even though Jak clearly didn't share my worries.

My foot stumbled on a lump of metal. I glanced back down and saw what I assumed was the charred, twisted remains of the back seat, the one I had been sitting on before the motorbike crashed. Blackened leather from the seats could be seen everywhere, scattered liberally around the clearing, hidden in the mountains of dust and ash that covered the ground.

Then I stopped in front of a particular tree.

The impact from the motorbike had left a massive dent in the sturdy trunk; a scorched crater that would never heal. The entire tree was bent violently backwards, its upper branches tangled with those of the surrounding plants, its bark rough and lined with blackened marks from the fire. The damage was horrible; the bike must have been moving at a tremendous speed in the last few seconds before it was brought to a sudden and forceful halt.

Ignoring Jak, I cautiously dropped to my knees beside the tree, wary of a sudden ambush from the darkness. It was the first time I had seen Waluigi since we had been travelling through the forest on the motorbike, gliding noisily between trees as we fled from the haunted mansion. The back of his head was propped up against the tree's thick roots; his cap had obviously been lost during the accident, thrown into the night where no-one would ever see it again. His left foot was twisted sharply in the wrong direction. Although he was clearly unconscious, I felt nervous about approaching him; I had known him long enough to realise how unpredictable he could be at times.

Unsure of what to do, I looked swiftly over my shoulder and spotted the tiny form of Jak examining the wreckage of the bike. He was almost invisible, gliding through the shadows without any apparent fear, and I found myself envying him yet again for his courage and composure. No matter where our long journey might take us, I could never be as strong as him – perhaps physically, but not mentally.

'Jak!' I half-called, half-whispered. 'Can you find some dry wood and help me light a campfire? I've got a feeling we're going to be here for a while.'

He nodded wordlessly and, without a moment's hesitation, melted into the darkness at the far end of the clearing. I hated asking him favours; I knew only too well that I had already relied on him too much. He was both smaller and younger than me, and yet he was the one protecting _me, _instead of the other way around as I would have preferred. But my deeply-rooted fears prevented me from taking command of the situation now. Not with the cold darkness surrounding me on all sides, drawing life and warmth from the night.

* * *

A sharp white glow sparked into existence, casting peculiar silhouettes across the midnight sky, forming the shape of a round-bodied ghost in mid-air. BooGie paused for a second or two without moving, allowing his crimson tongue to hang out between his razor-sharp canine teeth, his black eyes narrowed. Teleporting across such a vast distance had left him exhausted, a fact he cursed bitterly. He hadn't intended to tire himself out this much. He needed all his power to face the enemy he knew was lurking close by, watching his every movement.

'Quit hidin', GameBoo Advance,' he hissed at last, forcing himself to straighten in mid-air, floating fifty feet above the dead treetops below. 'I know you're there...'

'How clever of you,' came the casual reply. Another, dimmer light came into view, forming the body of a greyish-coloured ghost with unusually long canines protruding from massive, smiling jaws. He showed no sign of exhaustion as he reappeared from the darkness; the Moon Powers gave him sufficent energy to teleport without negative side-effects.

BooGie let the slight wind carry him upwards, giving him a small height advantage over the stronger ghost. He was aware, however, that he had little chance of winning should a real fight break out. Ghosts could not truly harm or kill each other, but they could still fight, still overpower one another using their strange magic, and he would be happier if that didn't happen.

'Traitor!' he accused, baring every inch of his canine teeth for emphasis. 'The King might still have a shred of trust for you, but I know better. You're not on our side and you never have been.'

GameBoo Advance tilted sideways in the air, his fathomless black eyes showing vague hints of amusement. 'What gives you that idea? I have served the King faithfully for nearly a hundred years, obeying his every command without question. No traitor could be _that _good at acting. Perhaps you misunderstood my intentions.'

'I haven't misunderstood anything,' hissed the larger boo. The silvery-white glow around his body was intensifying along with his frustration.

'We'll find out soon, won't we?' purred GameBoo Advance. 'Halloween is nigh upon us, and before it falls, you will know for certain what I am planning. And no, it doesn't have anything to do with the King.'

A flash of white light shot through the darkness, like a lightning bolt, causing him to blink momentarily before turning to face BooGie's barely-controlled anger. 'So you admit that you're up to somethin'? Something... that the King shouldn't know about?'

'Forget about him for a moment,' replied GameBoo Advance calmly. 'I don't want to hear his pathetic name again. I only care about my own power... surely you knew that already? I don't need anything from that ridiculous ghost who calls himself our _leader.' _He spat towards the ground, despite having no saliva to spit with. 'I'm following those two humans who left the mansion. One of them was called... Luigi, wasn't he?'

The undisguised smugness in GameBoo Advance's voice made it obvious that whatever he was planning, it wasn't going to be anything good.

'I'm not hanging around with you all night,' responded BooGie, hoping that the older ghost would recognise the unspoken threat in his words. 'I'll give you one last chance: tell me why you're chasing Luigi and his weird cousin.'

GameBoo Advance chuckled, his strangely familiar grin-sneer curling up the corner of his wide mouth. _'You're _going to give _me _one last chance? Come on, kid. Be realistic. You know how powerful I am, especially when the moon is almost full...'

BooGie cast a sidelong glance up at the gleaming silver orb in the sky, noticing that is was, in fact, almost a full circle. He had better hurry and end this discussion soon; he couldn't risk angering GameBoo Advance when his strength was at its highest point. 'I'm not forgetting this,' he said. 'You just wait and see... I'll be back.'

He didn't wait to watch his enemy's jaws curling to display his overlong canines. With a final flash of white light, and a tremendous amount of effort, he teleported himself back to the mansion and fled from the older ghost's sight.

* * *

I hadn't realised how much I had missed warmth until Jak finished building our improvised campfire in the middle of the clearing. I sat on a tree-root and stared into the depths of the bright red-and-gold flame, enjoying the rich waves of heat that rolled from it and drove the bitter wind away, if only slightly. The young Toad was sitting opposite me, leaning back comfortably with his small hands resting on the dry ground, a look of quiet contentment on his face. I felt exactly the same; peaceful, calm, despite everything that had happened and everything that was likely to happen soon. We had discovered some of our food supplies left undamaged among the debris, enough for both of us, although we had an alarming lack of water. The two bottles we had taken with us had both split open during the crash, leaving us with nothing to drink, but we didn't worry about it too much. This was a large forest, and it wouldn't be difficult to find a stream somewhere tomorrow morning.

My only real concern was Waluigi. He hadn't woken up since we had discovered him, and I had decided not to try and move him. Jak suggested that we simply leave him where he was, and continue our journey without him, but I opposed this idea so vehemently that he quickly gave up on it.

'Say, Luigi.' I glanced up expectantly at the sound of the young Toad's thoughtful voice. 'Where exactly should we be going? You know, we only left the mansion to escape GameBoo Advance and his creepy plans... but what are _we _planning?'

I opened my mouth and closed it again immediately, realising that Jak was making a valid point; neither me nor Waluigi had discussed what our destination would be. It had been difficult enough escaping from the mansion unnoticed, without worrying about where we were heading at the same time. I had always instinctively assumed that we were leaving Forever Forest, and perhaps travelling back to Toad Town, where many of my friends still lived. An idea shot into my mind – could we enlist the help of Princess Peach? Yes, she was childish and rarely took anything seriously, but did that matter? She might have some valuable information regarding GameBoo Advance... she might even know where Mario had gone!

I shook my head before my enthusiasm became too obvious to my companion. 'I don't know,' I said truthfully. 'Waluigi never mentioned a location.' I glanced over my shoulder at the motionless form of my cousin, still slumped against the tree trunk, and felt another surge of anxiety.

Jak seemed to know what I was thinking about, because he sighed lightly and shook his own head firmly in my direction. 'I thought we'd already decided that you can't do anything for him until he wakes up. C'mon, Luigi, stop worrying for a while. He's not going to suddenly drop dead while your back is turned.'

I managed to avoid uttering a snappy retort, annoyed at Jak's complete lack of concern towards my cousin. True, he wasn't a nice person – far from it, as I knew very well – but he had recently been involved in a high-speed motorbike crash. We had no way of telling what was wrong with him unless he woke up, which was seeming less likely with every passing minute. I couldn't stop myself from looking back every now and again to check on him, but every time I looked, he hadn't moved so much as a half-inch. Then again, I couldn't really blame Jak for his attitude; his species was a weak one, and he had no way of defending himself if Waluigi _did _betray us, although I was certain that would never happen. If it did... well...

I couldn't lose another family member. Not after Mario's disappearance.

We sat in silence for at least half an hour longer, enjoying the quiet peacefulness and the rolling warmth of the blazing campfire. The cold night air seemed less harsh, less biting when we were sitting around the flames, watching the moths darting as close as they dared to the light source.

Finally, Jak let out an uncontrollable yawn that caused me to glance towards him out of surprise, before I realised how exhausted he looked. 'We'd better get some sleep if we're going to be travelling again in the morning,' he pointed out sensibly, and I nodded in agreement. 'Although we won't be going anywhere if that lazy idiot -' he jerked a thumb in Waluigi's direction '- doesn't wake up.'

It didn't take so much effort to bite back my retort this time, but I wished – just for a moment or two – that my two companions were able to get along better. Our journey was already dangerous enough to terrify me, and it would be so much better if Jak and Waluigi weren't constantly at each other's throats.

* * *

I slept robotically for the rest of the night, drifting off into darkness without feeling even vaguely tired, listening to Jak's snoring from somewhere nearby. I would never understand how such a small creature could produce such a loud, and frankly infuriating, noise; I had to resist the urge to kick him awake. Instead, I lay back with my head resting on a tree-root, my cap tucked under my arm for safekeeping, as I didn't want anything to happen to it. Normally, the pitch-black shadows that lurked menacingly around the remains of our campfire would have made me too nervous to sleep. Oddly enough, they didn't bother me anymore. The darkness was intimidating as always, but I had learned to subconsciously ignore the fear, to turn my mind away from the unseen danger that surrounded me in every direction.

Before I fell asleep, I watched the moon floating through the midnight-blue sky like an enormous silver balloon, using its position to guess the time. Stars were visible behind the veil of black clouds that drifted lazily above the forest, but their light seemed dimmer than usual. The moon itself was just over half-full. Large enough, by this point, to provide a considerable source of power... if GameBoo Advance found us here...

He couldn't, surely? He might have been an ancient ghost, with enough knowledge and experience to defeat anyone using the power of words alone. His magical abilities were something I had seen before, and never wanted to see again – but if my goal was to destroy him, how could I avoid facing him? Just the memory of his fathomless black eyes burning deeply into my own... that was enough to convince me that he was a dangerous enemy. Perhaps, if I was unlucky, he would be too dangerous for me, or anyone else, to defeat – and what would happen then? Lack of information was my worst problem right now; I couldn't stop GameBoo Advance without having any idea what his intentions were.

Whatever happened, I knew he could never be trusted. My mind drifted briefly back to the old mansion, where I had left BooGie, the first ghost I had ever managed to befriend. As a comrade of mine, was he in danger from GameBoo Advance as well? Perhaps abandoning him in the mansion wasn't such a clever idea; I didn't want to put anyone at risk if it could be avoided. I had already expected too much from Jak, and while never complained, I couldn't help thinking that he resented me for it.

I turned my head slightly to the side, feeling the rough bark scraping away from the tree-root as I moved, and tried to see my two companions through the darkness.

Jak was curled up on his side, huddled comfortably beside the charred and blackened remains of our campfire, obviously fast asleep. I half-expected him to look more peaceful while he was sleeping, as most people did, but I was wrong. His determination seemed even clearer when he was unconscious; eyebrows drawn together in a slight frown, hands curled into fists. I had envied him more times than I could count, and this was just another thing I respected him for – his courage and self-assurance.

Turning my head even further, I spotted the unmoving shape of Waluigi lying several feet behind me, underneath the dented and scorched tree where the motorbike had crashed. As I watched, I saw him raise a gloved hand, reach into the pile of scattered debris and pull out his cap, seemingly out of nowhere. Apparently, he didn't realise I was still awake. He replaced the cap on his head and pulled it down sharply to cover his eyes, in a familiar gesture, then settled back down and went back to sleep.

I smiled faintly as I let my head rest against the tree-root once again, picturing the arguments that were likely to erupt tomorrow morning. Even if my two companions... or friends... couldn't get along with each other, I was still unspeakably happy to be travelling with them, knowing that I was safe with them nearby. If BooGie was here too, then I would be even more pleased. However, it had been my own decision to leave him at the mansion, and I couldn't do anything to change that now; I could only hope that he didn't run into any trouble.

For some reason, I_ knew_ that the motorbike crashing had only been the first, and least problematic, stage of our journey.


End file.
